Cameron's Reflection
by Raivon
Summary: Cameron is targeted by an old nemesis, who is determined to destroy everything she holds dear. Sequel to Cameron's Redemption. John/Cameron. Part 2/3.
1. Intrusion

**Chapter One: Intrusion**

It was a Sunday, no clouds, no rain, just the blue sky and the green grass. Rows upon rows of grey slabs littered the cemetery, each with a name of those gone. The only living person amongst these names was a 16 year-old boy. He was kneeling in front of one of the tombstones, gently polishing the marble.

"Hey, bro. How are things on your end? Good? Things aren't so good here, but then, you probably know that."

The boy picked up a cloth and poured a dab of polish onto it, then began wiping the engravings.

"We've had to move school. You know, avoid the press. I can't get my face in the papers, too many people out there who'd hunt me down if they knew. She misses you, ya know. She doesn't talk about it but, I can tell."

The boy finished polishing and put the bottle and cloth in his bag. He remained there for a few minutes, before getting to his feet and tapping the top of the stone.

"Take care of yourself, mate."

John gave the tombstone one last glance before turning around and walking home.

HERE LIES

MORRIS

Beloved Son and Friend

--

'Groceries, check. Guns, check. John's shirts, check. Cameron's unmentionables, check.'

Sarah was returning from the local store, going over everything she'd bought, hoping that she hadn't forgotten anything. Life seemed to have returned to normal, or at least, as normal as the Connors could expect. It had been over a month since the incident at the Prom, and they hadn't had a single run-in with Terminators or mobsters alike. Cromartie and Carter were disintegrated by Cameron and her thermite bath, which, along with

Vick's chip meant the end of any immediate threats.

But Terminators weren't the only threat to her son. Though she allowed John and Cameron's relationship to continue, Sarah was determined to enforce boundaries in regards to the physical aspects. Cameron was, despite her apparent humanity, a machine, and therefore inappropriate for John in the long run. Sarah tried to make Cameron see this, but the machine was stubborn, and dismissed her concerns.

John also seemed indifferent about the consequences of their relationship, so much so that he often showed his affection in front of Sarah. The occasional kiss here and there was fine, but sometimes he would forget that Sarah was in the same room and they would end up glued together until their squelching got so annoying that Sarah would lose her temper and shout at them.

Sarah entered the house and immediately dumped the groceries on the kitchen table. John and Cameron were no where to be found, but she could hear that infuriating squelching sound coming from the seemingly empty living room. Sarah marched over to the couch and cleared her throat loudly. Cameron popped her head up; her lips parted slightly, a look of surprise on her face. John appeared moments later, his cheeks turning red, and sat up. Sarah placed her hands on her hips and glowered at them.

"What have I told you about doing that?"

John wiped his mouth and extricated himself from Cameron, who stood up and brushed the hair out of her face, seemingly unconcerned by the awkwardness of their predicament.

"You told us: 'Don't let me catch you making out in the house, or anywhere else'."

Cameron had mimicked Sarah's voice perfectly, which annoyed her even more, as it seemed that the machine was mocking her.

"If you have such good memory then why didn't you remember that before you started eating John's face?"

John shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to be the target of Sarah's rebuke. _Cameron can handle it_, he thought.

"I did. But you said to not 'let' you find us making out around the house. It wasn't our intention to 'let' you find us, but you did anyway. So really, this is your fault."

Sarah was livid. John looked warily at his mother, waiting for the inevitable outburst.

"My fault!"

"Yes, for not being more specific in your instructions."

John couldn't help but snigger. Sarah gave him a withering look, which quelled his laughter in an instant. He looked at Cameron and saw a tiny flicker of a smile; apparently she had intended to make him laugh. Sarah regarded them both with a look of annoyance and anger. Eventually John decided to put his oar in and help deescalate the situation.

"Look, Mom, we're sorry, okay. We just got carried away. It won't happen again, I promise."

Sarah glared at him for a minute before nodding.

"Fine, go finish your homework. Cameron, I take it you've already done yours, so you can help me put the food away."

John gave a sigh of mixed relief and regret as he grudgingly went to his bedroom. Cameron followed Sarah into the kitchen and immediately began putting the tin food into the cupboards.

"Do you remember our little talk about you and John?"

"Yes, but it wasn't little. You lectured me for over an hour."

"Well I'd hoped that my point would sink in. Obviously it hasn't."

Cameron opened the fridge and began packing it full of turkey slices and chicken.

"I understood your 'point'; I just don't think it relevant at the moment."

"Not relevant. How d'you figure that?"

Cameron closed the fridge and examined her new underwear, a smile crossing her face.

"I like this colour, it's tight. Thank you."

"Don't change the subject."

Cameron's smile faded and she looked at Sarah with a serious expression.

"I promised to protect John. If I saw myself as a threat, don't you think I would've left by now?"

"There are many different kinds of threats, not all of them physical."

"I know this. I also know that if I leave John now, it would hurt him too much. I can't allow him to be harmed."

Sarah nodded slowly. Cameron had a point, but one question nagged at her.

"What about you? If you left John, how would you feel? Would it hurt?"

Cameron looked at the floor for a moment before locking eyes with Sarah.

"It would kill me."

--

'Number 312, number 313, number 314, here it is; number 315.'

Sarah pressed the doorbell and examined her surroundings while she waited. She was standing in a plain corridor, the apartment block was not exactly first-class, but it was clean. The sound of a chain being removed brought Sarah's attention back to the door as it swung open, revealing a man in his mid twenties. The man had dark brown hair with a fringe that was longer on his right side; he smiled and let her into the apartment, locking the door behind her.

The apartment was small with only two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen that joined with the living room. _Still cosy though_, she thought. The man went into the kitchen and poured himself a drink before offering her one.

"No, thank you. I can't stay long."

"Busy day?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. How're things with you."

The man winced slightly and pressed his hand on his stomach, which had recently been punctured with a steel pipe.

"I'm coping."

Sarah nodded sympathetically. He'd had an unexpected encounter with an old flame from 2032. Somehow she'd followed him back to 2008 and tried to kill him. He was forced to snap her neck and burn her body afterwards, to keep her from coming back to life.

"For someone who was impaled and almost gutted, you do seem to be in remarkably good health, Jason."

Jason laughed and winced once more.

"How's John?"

"He's fine."

"And Cameron? She still freaking out paramedics?"

"No. Alone they're fine, but collectively…"

Sarah mimed throttling their necks and Jason smiled.

"Boys will be boys, and girls, well… Girls try to rip the implants out of your brain."

Sarah smiled to herself. Jason was some kind of Skynet-bred human with cybernetic implants throughout his body. I-950 he'd called himself. He saved them from Cromartie many weeks ago and then disappeared for a month until returning a while ago to help with a little problem of Sarah's.

"Is he awake?"

Jason nodded and put his drink down. He then took a key from a peg and unlocked one of the bedroom doors.

"He cries sometimes. At night, when he thinks I'm asleep, he cries. I think that's a good sign, isn't it?"

"As good as we're gonna get."

Jason opened the door. The room was bare; just a mattress and pillow. Sarah stepped inside and nodded to Jason, who closed the door. She kneeled down and smiled slightly.

"You sober today?"

"Yeah, that bastard took away my drink."

Derek was a mess. He hadn't shaved in weeks and now had a short beard. He was chained to the wall and sat in the corner, out of the beam of sunlight that shone through the barred windows. Sarah felt a twinge of sympathy; she had decided that keeping Derek in their shed at home was too risky in his current state. Especially when he managed to break free and charged Cameron like a crazed animal, earning him a roundhouse from John. Keeping him chained up with someone who could restrain him was the better option, not to mention more hygienic. For all Derek did, he was still Kyle's brother, and therefore she still cared.

"You won't do anyone any favours by drinking yourself to death. He's keeping you safe."

"From who?"

"From yourself."

Derek snorted and laid his head back.

"So… what's on today's agenda, warden?"

--

Their new school wasn't as big as the last one, but still somehow had the same number of students. John was in Chemistry class, Cameron sat three desks behind him and he knew that she was watching him carefully. He smiled to himself, his thoughts drifting to later that day, when they would get home. John was so lost in his daydream that he didn't hear the teacher repeat his question for the third time.

"Mr. Baum!"

John came back to his senses and saw the teacher eying him angrily.

"Uh? Wha-? Sorry."

"Nice of you to join us, I hope I'm not boring you?"

"No, I was just… Sorry."

Several of the students laughed, including a particularly pretty girl to John's right. He glanced at her and received a beaming smile. He quickly averted his eyes, feeling Cameron's gaze on his back, but chanced another glance; and saw another girl whisper something to her, which caused the pretty girl to smile in John's direction again.

Cameron observed the girl carefully and recognised several tell-tale signs that set off alarm bells in her mind. She was very attractive, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she was definitely interested in John. Cameron suddenly felt the urge to blind the girl and realised that she was feeling jealous. Jealousy wasn't something 

Cameron had experienced until now, and it was a little confusing. Nevertheless, she made note of this girl and swore to keep a close eye on her in the future.

--

The girl was nearby with a group of fellow femmes.

'Note to self: teenage girls share many similarities to wild felines. They travel in packs led by a dominant female.'

Cameron watched as the girls giggled and playfully pushed the blonde towards their lunch table. John and Cameron were eating their lunch outside in the sun, but in retrospect, Cameron should've insisted they eat inside. The girl approached the table and smiled nervously, John looked up at her and swallowed, Cameron watched intently.

"Hi John, I'm Chloe."

"Hi."

Chloe grinned and looked over at Cameron, who kept a blank face.

"Is this your girlfriend?"

Cameron wanted John to say 'yes', but obviously that would cause complications, seeing as they were "technically" brother and sister.

"Uh, no, she's my sister."

"Oohh. Twins?"

"No, we uh, we share the same father, but have different mothers."

Chloe pretended to be sympathetic but Cameron could detect her joy at him being single. She sat down between them and placed her hand on the table, a gesture Cameron recognised.

"So, John, umm, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Nothing much. Why?"

Cameron glared at John behind Chloe's shoulder. He should have said they were busy, but his brain must not be functioning properly. _She is very pretty_, Cameron thought, _she's using her wiles to sway his thought._

"Well, a whole bunch of us are having a party and I was wondering if you would be interested in going."

_Say no_, Cameron thought. John considered for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"I'll think about it."

Chloe beamed and stood up, her hair brushing John's face slightly.

"That's cool, I hope you do decide to go, I'd like to see you again."

Chloe gave him a wink and strolled back to her gaggle of friends. John shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well that was bracing."

Cameron tilted her head and eyed him suspiciously.

"Why didn't you just say no?"

"Because girls don't like it if you reject them out of hand. It creates a lot of seriously screwed up emotions. You ever hear the expression; 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'?"

"Yes, but she can't hurt you with me around."

"No, but she can turn me into a social pariah in a nanosecond."

"You mean… a freak?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm always telling you; 'don't be a freak'. I've got to follow my own rules."

Cameron watched him closely for a moment. His reasoning was sound, but something bothered her.

"If she kisses you can I kill her?"

John laughed and smiled affectionately.

"Don't worry, it'll never happen."

--

"Any luck?"

"No, I can't seem to reach him. Whenever I get to the root of his insanity he shuts down, refuses to speak."

Jason locked the door and hung the key on the nearby peg.

"It must be pretty bad then."

Sarah sighed. She'd made no progress in discovering the source of Derek's hatred for Cameron.

"I'll try again in a couple of days. You don't mind watching him until then?"

"Nah, I got nothing better to do."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jason smiled and so did Sarah. They stared at each other for a moment until Sarah broke eye contact and gathered her jacket.

"I uh, I got to get home."

"Sure, I understand."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Sarah left the apartment and took a moment to regain her composure before heading down the corridor, determined to get him out of her head.

--

The youth struggled with lock, swearing as he tried to get the door open. Suddenly, a bright light erupted from behind the door, lightning arched in all directions, smashing the windows. The spectacle ended almost as soon as it started, the youth slowly reached out towards the door handle and found that it had unlocked. He cautiously opened the door and peered inside. He saw a boy, no older than himself, kneeling naked on the floor, which had melted all around him.

"Dude! What the hell?"

The boy stood up and stepped towards the stunned teen, regarding him for a moment.

"What are you looking at freak?"

The boy suddenly drove his fist through the teen's chest, killing him instantly. He let the youth fall to the floor and carefully examined the blood on his hand with a look of wonder, his eyes glowing red.

"Dude!"


	2. The Worst Sin

**Chapter Two: The Worst Sin**

_No other guy in the world was this lucky_, John thought as he lay there with Cameron. It had become a daily ritual for them; Cameron would sneak into John's room half an hour before Sarah awoke and they would just lay there, silently exchanging kisses, with Sarah none the wiser. John could think of no better way to start his mornings, especially on a school day. He ran his fingers through her soft brown hair and smiled; she was his, forever devoted to him, and him alone. John would do anything for Cameron, all she need do was ask, but she never did, so he had to guess what she wanted. He knew this would be how it would always be, and nothing could change that.

As their lips pressed together once more, the alarm on John's clock went off, signalling the end of their bliss. Cameron reluctantly pulled herself away from him and, after one final kiss, crept back into her room. Little did they know that Sarah had cottoned onto their scheme, and was already coming up with a plan to stop it. For now though, Sarah had to direct her attention to the morning paper, which told of a murder in the dregs of the city and reports of a lightning storm in the area.

She stood in the kitchen, absent-mindedly preparing John's lunch while reading the article. John came in and made himself a bowl of cereal, an expression of contentment on his tired face. Sarah could guess why this was, and had to remind herself of the compromise she'd chosen in relation to them two. As John tucked into his breakfast, Sarah dropped the paper on the table in front of him.

"What?"

"Look at the headline."

John read the paper, which declared: YOUTH FOUND MURDERED. John looked up at Sarah with a slightly confused expression.

"And? There isn't a day that goes by when there isn't some poor kid getting killed. Why is this one any different?"

"The way he died. Somebody punched through his ribcage and pulled out his heart."

"Mom, I'm eating here."

"Don't you think that's a bit odd? Someone managing to drive a fist into a person's chest?"

John put his spoon down, realising what Sarah was getting at, but it didn't make a lot of sense.

"Not every terrible thing is the work of a Terminator. It was probably a bunch of voodoo cultists looking to add another heart to their psychedelic rituals."

"Witnesses report a brief lightning storm in the area, and the boy was stripped of his clothes. Sound familiar?"

John sighed and carried his bowl over to the sink just as Cameron entered.

"Well when you put it like that. Hey Cam, Mom thinks we got a new visitor."

Cameron looked around the kitchen, looking for someone who wasn't there.

"Is this new visitor imaginary?"

John laughed and placed his bowl on the drainer, Sarah just shook her head and handed Cameron the paper.

"You're playing hooky. I want you to investigate, find out if one of them came through."

John looked put out; he'd obviously been looking forward to going to school with Cameron.

"What are you gonna tell the school? She's already missed several days this past month."

Cameron finished reading the paper and turned to John.

"It won't take me long to complete my mission, I should be able to join you by lunch time."

John looked hopefully at Sarah, who sighed; she really wanted to induce some separation anxiety between them.

"I'll tell them you have a migraine and that you should be alright by 1:00pm. That's your deadline, Tin-Miss."

"I'll get right on it."

Cameron put the paper down and headed for door, stopping to kiss John on the cheek, which made Sarah's stress vein twitch. _At least she's being discreet_.

--

_Topography matched… Location confirmed… Mission: Investigate any and all signs of Skynet activity…_

Cameron pulled away the crime scene tape and entered the building; an immediate scan confirmed the presence of a time sphere. Sarah's suspicions were correct; someone had come through, but from which side? Cameron had read the article carefully; the victim was killed by a blunt penetration to the chest, his heart was then removed. Cameron thought this odd behaviour for a Terminator, there are many ways to kill a human, but removing an organ seemed rather inefficient, not to mention messy.

Cameron performed a scan of the surrounding atmosphere; time travellers gave off a low-level radiation that lingers for a few hours. Unfortunately, the air had been corrupted by multiple contributors, the most prominent being human sweat. The trail of radiation had dissipated, removing any possibility for a trace.

Cameron returned to the outside and analysed what she had learned: someone, most likely a Terminator, had arrived here and killed the youth, stole his clothes and fled the scene. Standard practise for any infiltrator, except for the heart removal, that wasn't typical behaviour. Then something clicked:

_Stole the youth's clothes… Processing… Victim was approx. 17 years of age… Standard height of said age would not encompass the diameter of any adult infiltrator model… Model must be of adolescent design… No known adolescent models other than myself exist… All evidence suggests that a new model was been sent back…_

This was troubling, and not the least bit insulting. Cameron felt wholly unique in her petite design and did not relish the idea that another may be walking around with a similar build.

_Odd… It seems I am experiencing outrage as a result of personal pride… Interesting…_

--

"…and you're sure it's one of them...? Right, good work, now get to school before John wets himself… I heard that, metal-head."

Sarah hung up on Cameron and immediately dialled a different number. After a few seconds of ringing, a familiar voice on the other side said "hello".

"Hi, Jason, it's Sarah. I've got a favour to ask…"

--

The bell rang out, signalling the end of lunch and the start of John's last lesson. He gathered his books and headed for class, but was waylaid by Chloe, who greeted him with that intoxicating smile of hers.

"Hey, John, it's nice to bump into you again. So, have you thought about my invitation?"

"Invitation?"

"Yeah, you know, to the party tonight. Please say you're going, it'd be ever so dull if you don't."

Chloe batted her eyelashes and tilted her head slightly. _Sort of like Cameron does_, John observed, _speaking of Cameron…_

"Uh, I don't know. I've got a lot of work to get through and…"

Chloe's face dropped, she seemed to go from overjoyed to depressed in an instant.

"…I guess I can put it off tonight."

John mentally kicked himself for his cowardice. Chloe's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she grinned even wider, her hair even seemed to glow.

"Brilliant, be sure to bring your sister along if you like. I can't wait to see you tonight, bye."

"Bye."

She strolled off, gleeful to say the least, leaving a defeated John in her wake.

_What would Cameron say?_

--

Cameron could've kicked him for his stupidity. _How can the future leader of mankind be so gullible?_

She stood there, watching them talk from a distance. John was just about to tell the siren where to go, when he suddenly cracked under her pout, and agreed to attend her party. Cameron watched as Chloe skipped away from John and joined her gaggle of cackling friends. The group passed Cameron's hiding place and she managed to catch a snippet of the conversation.

"Just watch, girls. I'll have him in my bed by the morning."

Cameron was incredulous; this girl intended to seduce John to the fullest extent. This made her a very real threat… not just to John, but to herself too. Something switched in Cameron's mind and she found herself following the girl, her fists ready to kill and maim. Before she could act, however, she heard John call her name, which snapped her out of her murderous pursuit.

"Cam, there you are. Come on, we're late for class."

Cameron looked into his eyes and wondered whether or not to warn him of the girl's intentions, but ultimately decided to keep quiet, and swore to keep a close eye on him during the party. They walked to their lesson, which ironically, was about predatory courtship and placed heavy emphasis on the Black Widow spider. Cameron found over sixty similarities between the arachnid and Chloe, and was more than a little disturbed when they watched a video that showed a Praying Mantis eating its mate after copulating.

Cameron swore not to let that bleached bimbo devour her John.

--

Sarah scan-read a dozen files, looking for something she might've overlooked. She came upon Andy Goode's file and stopped, a wave of regret washing over her. _Poor Andy, you didn't deserve to get mixed up in all of _

_this…_ Sarah put the file down and noticed as a small slip of paper fell onto the floor. She picked it up and read the little note it contained:

_Hey Bobby,_

_Thanks for your help with getting Turk running, I was pulling out handfuls of my hair trying to figure out what was wrong, I'd be bald if it wasn't for you. You've got quite the talent for computers; maybe you should look into designing software of your own some day. Anyway, I've got to get to work setting up the learning systems (BTW, I found a guy who's a genius chess player, calls himself Dmitri Shipkov)._

_Thanks again,_

_Andy_

Sarah read the letter through a dozen times, committing it to memory. She then took note of the address on the top. _This man, Bobby, was connected to the Turk. He might have something to do with Skynet_. Sarah just hoped she'd get to him before someone else did.

--

It had taken quite a lot of convincing to get Sarah to let them go to this party. It was only when John mentioned Chloe that Sarah finally relented, possibly under the hope that he would find a proper girlfriend. Cameron parked the car alongside the other attendees and looked at John for a moment before getting out. The party was held in a woodland area, just off the main road. There were dozens of fellow students, all partying around a large fire, a car with loud speakers spewing forth music.

John instantly regretted his decision to attend.

"You've got to be kidding me."

He turned to Cameron, expecting to see a similar expression of disappointment, and was surprised to see a look of genuine interest on her illuminated features. She was enraptured by the scene. John found himself repeating his last statement, this time to Cameron directly. She dragged her eyes from the fire and looked quizzically at John.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I was just wondering what is so fascinating about this sorry excuse for a party."

Cameron's gaze returned to the fire, her eyes glowing blue for a brief moment.

"I've never seen this type of social gathering before. It's… intriguing."

John shook his head in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me."

--

Cameron had been so entranced by the activities of the students that she didn't even notice when John was accosted by Chloe.

"Hey, John, great party, huh?"

"Err, yeah, it's totally wild. Never been to one like it."

_And never will again_, he thought. Chloe placed her arms behind her back and rocked from side to side, as if expecting something. Eventually, she spoke.

"Hey, d'you wanna take a walk?"

John considered her request. On one hand; Cameron would kill him. On the other; she was the reason he was dying of boredom. So he decided to accept and walked with Chloe into the woods, away from the racket of the party. They came to a stop in a small glade and Chloe leaned against a tree, biting her lip playfully.

"So, uh, John, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

John's heart skipped a beat, did he hear her right? He didn't like where this was going.

"Uh, yeah, in fact I have one at the moment."

"Oh, who? Have I met her before?"

John scratched the back of his head, searching for a response.

"I don't think so; she goes to a different school."

"Oh, I see, so I would never meet her. Very convenient."

She giggled and took a few steps towards him.

"Come on, John. You think that old line will work on me. I know you're not going out with anyone."

John was starting to feel very uncomfortable. He wanted to leave, but his feet seemed to be glued to the spot. Chloe drew closer.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious. The only girl I've seen you pay any attention is your sister."

John gulped, fearing the worst.

"Cameron?"

Chloe took another step towards him. She was too close.

"Yeah, you guys are tight, and that's good. I never had any siblings, so I don't know what it's like to care for another."

She was now close enough for John to count every freckle on her face.

"But I'd like to find out."

Then she was upon him, and his entire mind went blank. He wasn't fully aware of what was happening, and couldn't quite grasp the fact that her lips were on his. He was drowning in confusion.

--

Cameron froze. Her entire body locked in one position. Her visual receptors were showing her the impossible: John was kissing another girl. A mixture of emotions coursed through her as she analysed a list of possible responses, finally choosing the most direct reaction. Cameron strode towards the couple and grabbed the girl with and iron grip. She cried out in pain as Cameron squeezed her arm, dragging her away from John.

"Cameron, stop! Let her go, please."

But Cameron had become deaf to his pleas. She pushed the girl away from him. Chloe staggered backwards, catching her foot on a root and falling down the hill. She screamed as she rolled downwards, finally colliding with a broken tree stump. John carefully made his way down to her.

"Chloe, are you okay? Chloe talk to me."

John rolled her over and was horrified to see a piece of branch protruding from her head. Her eyes were distant and her face blank. John crept away, his whole body shaking.

"Oh, God, oh my God, what have you done? What have you done?"

Cameron stared at the dead girl with wide eyes. It hadn't been her intention to kill her. _This was a freak accident, surely John will see this_, she thought. But John was hardly in any state to see reason; he staggered to his feet, his hand covering his mouth. Suddenly, without warning, John threw up in a nearby bush. Cameron approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, but he recoiled from her touch.

"Get off of me! Don't you touch me!"

"John I-…"

"Don't you ever come near me again!"

John's face was set with disgust and rage the likes of which Cameron had never seen before. And then it hit her. The blonde girl; she brought back memories of Jordan Cowan, and Morris, and the way she died; Jessica Peck, one of Vick's victims. She drew closer to John and placed her hands on his shoulders, ready to give him a comforting hug, but he tore himself from her arms.

"Stay the hell away from me! You're sick! Derek was right; you don't even care about her do you?"

Cameron was becoming very upset by his behaviour, he'd never been this angry with her before.

"I care about you."

John laughed manically and placed his hand on his head. He glanced at Chloe's body and closed his eyes tight, pacing back and forth as he spoke.

"You don't care about me. You can't, you're just a machine. You don't care about me, her, or anybody."

Cameron felt her eyes brimming with tears.

"But I do… I love you."

John stopped pacing and opened his eyes; they had darkened, as if something in him had died.

"You don't know what love is."

And with that, he scrambled back up the hill and drove as far away from Cameron as he could.

Cameron dropped to her knees next to the body and cried without restraint. Everything had gone so wrong. John hated her. Was disgusted with her. He might never forgive her.

"What do I do? What do I do?"

Chloe gave no answer, and nothing in her databanks could console her. She was alone.


	3. Devil on His Shoulder

**Chapter Three: Devil on His Shoulder**

LOCAL STUDENT FOUND DEAD

The papers called it a tragic accident, that she must have tripped and fell. No one was to blame. But John knew the truth; Cameron had murdered the girl, for kissing him. _What kind of a person can do such a thing? I forgot, she's not a person, she's a machine._ 'Wherever they go and whatever they do, they carry death'. _Derek was right all along, I was just too stubborn to see it._

Cameron had made tentative attempts to talk to John since that night, but he had given her the cold shoulder. He wanted nothing to do with her, but she was persistent. Somewhere in that chip of hers, she felt the need to regain his trust, to go back to the way things were before Chloe's death. But John wasn't going to forgive her for adding another senseless death to his conscience; he'd had all he could stomach with Morris and Jordan. This was too much for him to handle; and it was all her fault.

Cameron appeared at his door and watched him for a moment. John was pretending to have not noticed, but she knew better.

"John?"

He slammed his pencil down and glared at her, his eyes darkening.

"I told you to leave me the hell alone."

"John, please, I-…"

"Shut the damn DOOR!!"

Cameron struggled for a moment before slowly closing the door, sealing his hatred within those walls. She leaned against the door and stared at the ceiling, fresh tears running down her face. She couldn't understand why John refused to even talk to her. Many terrible things had happened to them in the past, Cameron's rampage among them, but John had forgiven her for that. He'd forgiven her for letting Jordan die, and he'd forgiven her for almost killing his mother. So why couldn't he forgive her for accidentally killing Chloe, what made it any different from her past sins.

She sobbed even harder as confusion set in, and all of her advanced logical reasoning failed her utterly. Sarah came around the corner, a look of concern on her face.

"What's all the shouting about?"

Then she saw the tears on Cameron's face and her concern increased.

"What's going on between you two; you haven't been the same since that party."

Cameron glanced at Sarah before going to her bedroom. She had never seen the machine this upset, so it must be serious. Sarah knocked on John's door and received a rude dismissal.

"John Connor, don't you use that language with me."

The door opened and John stood there, a look of annoyance on his face. He looked down the hall, checking to see that Cameron was no where near.

"Sorry, I thought you were Cameron."

"Which begs the question: why would you use that kind of language with the girl you proclaim to love?"

John looked at the floor and mumbled something that sounded like "she doesn't love me".

"No? I find that surprising coming from you, especially when you fought so hard to keep her from being scrapped."

"Yeah well, maybe I made a mistake."

A distant cry echoed down the hall, followed by the slamming of a door, Cameron had obviously been listening in. Sarah decided she'd had enough and wanted answers.

"Right, what the hell is going on? What happened at that party that's so bad that you two won't talk to each other?"

John crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, a defensive gesture.

"It doesn't matter."

"I'll be the judge of that. What happened?"

John sighed and went over to his desk, Sarah followed him. He handed her the paper, which showed a picture of a pretty blonde girl who'd died at a party. And then it clicked.

"You were at this party?"

John nodded, his eyes glued to the picture.

"Her name was Chloe."

Sarah dreaded what was coming.

"What happened? What did Cameron do?"

"She… found us kissing, Cameron. I didn't mean for it to happen, Chloe just… jumped me, you know. Cameron pulled her away from me and pushed her. She tripped and fell… down the hill. Cameron killed her."

Sarah took a deep breath. Part of her was glad that she knew the reason behind it all, but another part wished she had maintained her ignorance.

"Did you… leave any evidence? Finger prints, anything that could lead the cops to you?"

John glowered at her. Sarah knew she sounded more concerned about his involvement than the death of the girl, but she needed to know.

"Did you?"

"No. They ruled it out as a 'tragic accident'."

Sarah nodded slowly and reached out to stroke her son's chin, but he recoiled.

"Mom, can you just… leave me alone."

Sarah removed her hand and made for the door.

"What about Cameron?"

"What about her?"

"Aren't you gonna talk to her?"

John sat down behind his desk and continued to stare at the paper.

"I have nothing to say to her."

--

The day was like any other, except for that silence, the silence that separated him and Cameron.

Cameron had decided to leave him alone. She hoped that, given time, he would find it in him to forgive her. But John knew this wouldn't happen any time soon. He sat down for lunch and gave Cameron that cold look, which told her to find another seat. She stalked off, looking utterly miserable. John took a bite out if his sandwich and was lost to his thoughts.

"Mind if I sit?"

John came back to his senses and looked up to see a boy standing there, holding a brown bag.

"Err, sure. Go ahead."

"Cool."

The boy sat down and placed the bag on the table.

"My name's Kevin, by the way."

"John."

Kevin nodded and took an apple out of his bag and eyed it with little enthusiasm.

"Man I hate it when my mom makes lunch, it makes you wonder whether taste skips a generation."

John laughed.

"Yeah, tell me about it. My mom is always making me brown bag it. I keep asking her for lunch money instead, but…"

"What are you gonna do? You can't say you hate her sandwich, that's a one-way ticket to Bust-Ville."

John laughed again. This guy was starting to grow on him already, like Morris.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I'm just tired, you know. A lot of late nights."

Kevin looked over John's shoulder, seeing Cameron in the distance, watching them.

"Cute brunette at six o'clock, looks like she's checking you out."

John looked behind him to see Cameron there and scowled. He turned his back on her and focused on his sandwich.

"You're not interested?"

"No, it's… she's my sister."

"Oh, sorry, that must have conjured some freaky images. So why is she burning a hole in your back instead of sitting here instead?"

John shifted in his seat.

"It's… complicated. We're not getting along at the moment."

Kevin sniggered and eyed Cameron for a moment before turning his attention back to John.

"I had a sister once, a real head case, you know. God, they really know how to screw with your head, don't they? They crawl inside… play with your feelings, and then SNAP… they take away everything good in the world."

"You've been there?"

Kevin sighed.

"Oh, yeah, I've been there. Thank God she was hit by that bus, or I might have thrown myself in front of one."

John considered his words. Here was a guy who knew exactly what John was going through, it was no wonder they were becoming fast friends.

"We should all be so lucky."

--

"What did you say his name was again?"

"Bobby, I did a bit of digging and found his address. I was wondering whether you fancied doing a little field work, help me check this guy out."

Jason smirked.

"What? Like a date?"

"No, not a date, just a… just business."

Jason laughed and held his hands up in mock surrender. Sarah felt a little rattled by his boldness.

"Okay, okay, just kidding. When do you want to do this?"

"Right now, if you're not busy."

"Not at all, I'll just get my coat."

Jason retrieved his coat and opened the door for Sarah, who muttered as she passed.

"It's not a date."

He smiled and closed the door.

--

"What class you got next?"

"Chemistry."

"Gutted mate. You wanna ditch?"

John seriously considered the offer, but decided against it.

"Nah, maybe another time."

"Suit yourself. Watch out, psycho sister at three o'clock."

John slammed his locker door shut and glared at Cameron, who stood hesitantly, wary under his gaze.

"John, can we talk?"

John felt Kevin's eyes on his back and remembered what he'd said.

"I already told you; no. Now leave me alone before I do something you'll regret."

John bumped past her, leaving Cameron even more forlorn. She looked at Kevin, her eyes glassy. He just smirked and chuckled as he walked away, leaving her alone in the corridor.

--

"C'mon, it'll be a laugh."

"I don't know, my mom's pretty uptight about me hanging around after school."

"So is mine, but that never stops me. You can't remain under her heel all your life. You have to break free once in a while, c'mon."

John was hesitant about Kevin's offer to hang out in the town. Sarah would freak if he didn't return home as soon as school ended. Kevin was getting impatient.

"Look at it this way; you'll seriously piss off your sister. Isn't that incentive enough?"

John considered for a moment before smiling. _It would be nice to make her crazy for a change_.

"Well, when you put it like that."

--

John was no where to be found. He had left without her. Abandoned her.

This was all becoming too much for her to handle. Cameron didn't know how much more she could take. No doubt John was with that meddlesome friend of his. She had detected something odd about Kevin, something behind his eyes, an insanity that troubled her. She forced herself to walk the distance back home, her mind awash in misery. She wished everything could go back to the way it was.

_But machines don't get wishes_, she reminded herself.

--

"No! Not again!"

Sarah stared at the body of who she could only assume to be Bobby. He bore a single bullet wound on his head, just like Andy. Jason stepped into the room and examined the body.

"This is precision work. A professional hit. Someone wanted him dead, and no doubt took whatever he was working on. No luck finding out what, though. Most of his files are gone."

Sarah kicked the desk in frustration.

"Too late… again! Why must we always arrive too late to save these people?"

Jason frowned slightly.

"This isn't your fault. There's nothing more you could've done."

"I could've been more thorough with Andy's file. I could've found that letter before now, I could've saved him."

Jason sighed and sat on the edge of the desk.

"There are some things that we just can't change, trust me, I know."

Sarah looked up at him and wondered what he'd experienced to merit such a statement.

"Look, don't go beating yourself up about every person who dies because of Skynet. It's no more preventable than the sun setting. Just… learn to live with it."

Sarah snorted. She'd never be able to live with it. All of this would forever haunt her dreams. Jason cocked his head slightly, having noticed something on the floor.

"Hello."

He reached down and picked up a file that was poking out from beneath the desk. It had the word 'Singularity' printed on it. Jason flipped through a few pages, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"I think… we just found what we're looking for."

--

Cameron walked at a slow pace. She was in no particular hurry to get home. As she passed a house to her left, Cameron observed a quarrelling couple. The man was shouting at his wife, declaring his desire to leave her, while she begged him to stay. He strode down the path and slammed the garden gate shut, leaving the woman crying on the doorstep. Cameron knew what the woman was feeling and felt a deep rage well up inside her. She followed the man into an alley and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. She then proceeded to hit him multiple times, until he begged her to stop.

She held him by the throat and raised her fist, ready to cave his face in.

"Go back to her! Say you're sorry!"

"Please… I- I'll go back, just… please."

Cameron let the man stagger away. When she left the alley, the man was hugging his wife. Cameron felt a small sense of closure, but was also consumed with jealousy. She turned around and continued her slow journey back home.

--

"Where the hell have you been? School finished two hours ago, and where's John?"

Cameron just walked past Sarah and sat down on the sofa, quietly examining her blood-soaked knuckles.

"I walked home. John went out with his new friend. I don't know where they went."

Cameron spoke in monotone, devoid of any emotion. Sarah eyed the blood warily.

"Whose blood is that?"

"It belongs to the man I attacked."

"You attacked someone, why?"

"He was leaving his wife. He wouldn't listen to her, he just left."

Sarah pressed her hands together and covered her mouth. This was going too far; a girl had died, John was AWOL, and Cameron was attacking strangers. Things had to stop. She went to the kitchen to get a towel for Cameron's knuckles when John suddenly appeared.

"I hope you have a good excuse for going out when I explicitly forbade it."

John sighed and slammed the door.

"I was just hanging out with Kevin. Nothing bad happened."

"What if you were attacked? What if another triple-8 found you?"

"But I wasn't attacked, and I didn't see hide nor hair of any machines."

Sarah picked up the paper from a couple of days ago.

"You remember this little incident. A boy had his heart ripped out. You want that to happen to you?"

"It won't."

"How can you be so sure, without Cameron there…"

John's face darkened.

"I don't need Cameron; I can take care of myself."

He'd apparently not noticed her sitting there, tears running down her face. She sobbed, causing John to jump out of his skin.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me?"

"She was already there when you arrived."

Cameron slowly stood up and faced John, she was very distraught and everything about her practically screamed for a hug, for some form of comfort. Sarah felt her heart twinge; she couldn't imagine how John could be so cold. _What has happened to my boy?_

"John…"

John held up his hand and glared at her.

"I've told you before; I'm not interested. When will you get that through your thick metal skull?"

Cameron whimpered and stormed off to her bedroom. Sarah was incredulous.

"What is happening to you?"

She received no answer; John just glowered at her and went to his room.

Sarah felt adrift; nothing made any sense anymore. It was like the whole world had been turned upside-down.


	4. Confessions of the Damned

**Chapter Four: Confessions of the Damned**

A donut; the favourite snack of every L.A. cop, this particular one had pink icing and sprinkles on it.

The cop reached out for it and was surprised when the pastry suddenly exploded, covering him head to foot in sugary mush. He looked closely at what remained to see a firecracker inside, and dumbly wondered how that got in there. Little did he know that this was the handiwork of two youths, who were in silent hysterics behind his car. The cop started the engine and drove away to investigate the store he'd bought it from, leaving John and Kevin to laugh aloud.

"Nice one."

"Did you see his face?"

"Ah, priceless."

John wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and stood up. This was just one of the many tricks they had played on the cops these past days, and it was getting better every time. Kevin had quite the imagination when it came to practical jokes. John was about to ask what he wanted to do next when a familiar voice called his name.

"Oh, crap, fun's over."

Sarah pulled up, got out, marched towards John, grabbed his arm, and started to drag him back to the car. John shook himself loose and took several steps back towards Kevin, who had an amused look on his face.

"And I thought my mom was grabby."

"You watch your mouth."

"Why, what are you gonna do? I'm not your son."

"And I can be thankful for that. C'mon John."

John remained where he was. There was no way he was going to back down in front of Kevin. Besides, he thought, _why should I?_

"No, we're not finished."

"Yes, you are."

"Says who?"

"Me, now come on, we're leaving."

John crossed his arms together and dug his heels in.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

Sarah took a few steps towards him, her voice becoming dangerous.

"You're getting in that car, one way or the other."

Kevin stepped forwards, stopping at John's shoulder.

"You heard him, lady. He's not going anywhere."

Sarah was livid; she hated being called lady.

"And who the HELL are you?"

"I'm John's new best friend."

"Not for long. John, get in the car, or so help me God, I'll…"

"What? You'll do what, exactly?"

John took a step closer and lowered his voice.

"You know you can't do anything to me; I'm too important, remember?"

Sarah had had enough. She grabbed John by the wrist and twisted his arm around his back, then marched him into the car. Once he was inside, Sarah turned to Kevin, who wore a look of contempt.

"I can get you done for that."

"Just you try. Stay the hell away from my son. I mean it."

She then got behind the wheel and drove away, with a brooding John in the back. Kevin smiled to himself.

"So do I."

--

Cameron knocked for the second time, but received no answer. She carefully inserted the lock pick and began rattling it around; just like John had shown her many weeks ago. After a few seconds, the lock clicked and she opened the door, revealing a small apartment. She stepped onto the fresh hold and closed the door behind her. The place was clearly empty, and Cameron assumed that Jason was out. She was not willing to go back home, however, and decided to wait for him to return.

She carefully explored the apartment and took note of its Spartan design. _Jason never was one for indulgence_, she thought. After exploring his bedroom, Cameron attempted to enter the second, only to find it locked. She spotted the key on a peg to her left and used it to unlock the door, wondering what was behind it. The door swung open to reveal a man chained to the wall.

"Derek!"

Derek was dozing, but immediately snapped awake upon hearing her voice. He got to his feet and moved forwards, but was held firmly in place by the chains. Cameron stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Derek was expecting this ever since Sarah had chained him up in the old shed. In truth, he was surprised that it took her so long.

"So, you gonna kill me or what?"

Cameron regarded him with her head tilted to one side. She looked a mess; her eyes were pink and her hair unkempt.

"No. I just want to talk."

"Talk? Are you kidding me?"

"No. I'm not kidding you."

Her voice was barely audible and sounded a little hoarse.

"What the hell is this? Why do want to talk? You do remember I hate you, right?"

"I remember. It's just… I have no one to talk to. I'm alone."

Derek hated himself for it, but he couldn't help but feel a little twinge of sympathy for the machine. He sat back down and watched her closely.

"Welcome to the club."

"What club?"

"What?"

"What club are you welcoming me to?"

Derek sighed. _Why are machines so damn stupid?_

"It's an expression. It means I know how you feel. Not that you actually feel anything."

"Oh, thank you for explaining."

Cameron sat down next to Derek, her back against the wall. Derek wasn't sure what her game was, but he wasn't fooling for it.

"So, what is it you want to talk about? Past times? Wacky torture tales? Take your pick."

Cameron stared up at the ceiling, her gaze seemed distant.

"John."

"What about him?"

"Something has happened to him."

Derek's blood turned cold. _She can't possibly mean…_

"What happened, is he okay?"

"No. He's changed. He's become… cruel."

Derek laughed. _Here I was expecting the worst when John has simply seen the light in regards to the machine._

"So I'm guessing you and he aren't cuddling buddies any more."

A single tear ran down her cheek. Derek revelled in the moment. _Finally, John's seen sense._

"I knew it. I knew this would happen. Maybe you should've just let me destroy you at the Prom."

"You're right. I wish you had killed me then."

Derek hadn't expected her to agree with him. In fact, he expected to be dead already, not talking to the machine. There was more going on here.

"Is that why you're here? You want me to kill you?"

Cameron considered his query carefully before answering.

"No. There's still a chance I can reach him. He saved me. I have to return the favour."

"Save him, from who?"

"From himself."

Cameron's words echoed Sarah's. It seemed everyone was trying to save someone these days.

"What makes you think he needs saving?"

"He met a boy at school, and ever since then… he won't talk to me. I don't recognise him as the John I knew, in the past or the future. I've never seen him like this before."

"What does Sarah have to say about all this?"

_I bet she's thrilled._

"She can't control him. Everything is falling apart. I'm losing everything that matters to me."

Derek should've been glad for John, but the way things sounded, he was off the rails, and not in a good way.

"You think he's heading for a fall?"

"I think he's going to destroy himself, and I can't stop him."

Derek wanted more than anything to be free right now, but he knew that he'd have little success in reaching John, even if he were to walk out today. There was only one option.

"You're gonna have to talk to him. If he'll listen to anyone, it'll be you."

Cameron turned her head and looked at Derek directly.

"I've lost all hope."

--

Sarah gave the rifle one final wipe before placing it back in the trunk. She'd cleaned every weapon in the house and still didn't feel any better. John had locked himself in his room, refusing to speak to her. He hadn't taken lightly to being dragged home against his will. The things he'd said to her; Sarah felt like she never knew her son, never knew he could be so cruel.

She found herself crying and wondered why the house wasn't flooded by now, with all the tears that had hit the floor these past weeks. Cameron was crying bucket loads each day, and nothing Sarah said or did made any difference. The machine was trapped in purgatory and only John could save her, but he wouldn't.

Sarah heard the front door open and close. She wiped her face and went into the living room to find Cameron examining the TV remote.

"What are you doing?"

"Remembering."

"Remembering what?"

Cameron smiled ever so slightly.

"I couldn't figure out how to play a video. John was angry at me for letting Jordan die, but he still showed me how to do it. He could've let me struggle, but he didn't. He still cared."

She looked up at Sarah, her face desperate.

"Please… tell me John still cares."

Sarah felt awful. Cameron was on her last legs, there was no telling what she might do next.

"He does. Deep down, I think he does. He's just become twisted by hate and guilt."

Cameron put the remote down and looked hopeful.

"Oh, Derek wants to see you."

"Derek? How do you…"

"I went to visit Jason, but he wasn't there. So I talked to Derek instead."

"Oh, I'd better go to him then. Stay here and keep away from John. Just give him time."

Sarah picked up her jacket and left. Cameron continued to stare at the remote, her thoughts dwelling on the past.

--

"I didn't expect to see you so soon, if at all. I figured the machine would throw herself off a bridge by now."

"She is very upset."

"No kidding, John's really screwed with her programming. Crossed the wrong wires, if you know what I mean."

Sarah sighed. She was in no mood for Derek's tedious "I hate Cameron" rants.

"She said you wanted to talk. So talk."

"First, I want to know something. Cameron told me that John…"

"Believe every word."

He found it hard to believe that things could go so wrong.

"How did… I mean Cameron said he's met a boy at school, but… where is all this coming from?"

"It started about a week ago. Cameron caught John kissing a girl and accidently killed her."

"She killed the girl."

"Accidently. John went crazy after that and met a boy called Kevin, a genuine piece of bad news. They've been going around the city causing chaos wherever they can find it. He's out of control."

Derek flexed his muscles slightly.

"Sounds like someone needs to sort this kid out, set the machine on him, she'll mess him up good and proper. It's what she does."

Sarah narrowed her eyes slightly.

"And how would you know that?"

Derek stared into the distance, his mind on the past.

"We were on patrol. Me, Kyle, my team, we were attacked by HKs and captured. Except for Kyle, he got away, thank God. They took us to an old house, chained us up, and one by one, took us into the basement. And that damn music… She was there, Cameron. Everything after that was a blur, but I remember how screwed up it was. I remember begging for death, and never having my wish granted. I ask you; what kind of torture is so horrible that your mind buries it so deep that you can only scrape the surface?"

Sarah had no answer. She now understood why he hated Cameron so much, and couldn't blame him in the least. But he was broken. As Cameron developed her humanity, he was slowly losing his.

"Maybe it's time you put the past behind you."

"Don't you mean ahead of you? This did, does, happen in the future you know."

Sarah chuckled, the first time in days.

--

_He's done it again. Why is he doing this to me?_

John was no where to be seen. He'd abandoned her again. Cameron let out a sigh and began the lonely walk home. Mr. Holland, her psychology teacher, took note of her morose attitude and called her over to his car.

"Hey, err, Cameron, right? You okay, you look like your favourite puppy just died."

"My brother left without me again. I have to walk home alone."

"How far?"

Cameron did a brief calculation before answering.

"3.4 miles."

"Ouch! Tell you what, why don't I give you a lift, save you the walk."

Cameron considered him for a moment before agreeing and getting in the passenger seat.

--

The trip was relatively short. Mr. Holland had asked Cameron about her relationship with John, to which she answered truthfully. She told him about how cruel John was being towards her, and how upsetting it was. Mr. Holland seemed sympathetic, so much so that he seemed to have not paid attention to where he was driving and stopped in a sheltered picnic area, near the woods where Chloe had died. When Cameron pointed this out, Mr. Holland just smiled at her.

Cameron suddenly felt very uncomfortable, there was some intent behind his eyes, and before she could act, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrists. She struggled against him, but was afraid of losing control and killing him. John would hate her even more, and she couldn't risk that. So she resigned herself to whatever Mr. Holland had in mind, crying out in despair and hopelessness.

Before he could progress any further, however, the driver seat window suddenly shattered and Mr. Holland was dragged out of the car. Cameron got out in time to see Jason kicking the teacher between the legs and then pinning him against the car.

"Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"She didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry!"

"Mean it!"

"I'M SO SORRY!!"

Jason then threw the teacher over the bonnet of his car and took hold of Cameron's hand, leading her away from the would-be rapist.

--

Once they were safely away from Mr. Holland, Jason placed his hands on her face and examined her closely. He'd never seen anyone so miserable, least of all a machine. He felt his heart clench at the sight.

"Mei mei, what has happened to you?"

She quickly dissolved into tears, and told him everything. Jason held her close as she poured her heart out, he hated himself for not being around as much as he should. Once she had finished, Jason wiped the tears from her face and told her everything would be fine, before taking her home.

--

Cameron stopped at the door and turned around to look at Jason. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, mei mei. Everything will be fine. You just focus on getting better, okay. Oh, and in the future, don't accept rides from strangers."

She smiled at him, a grateful smile, one that told him just how much he meant to her at that moment.

"Thank you."

"You're quite welcome, little sister."

--

John was in his room, as always. Cameron slowly approached the open door and knocked. John looked up from his homework and scowled.

"Go away."

Cameron said nothing; she just stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She was wearing one of his long t-shirts, and little else. She'd cleaned herself up and applied lipstick; she was the picture of beauty. Cameron slowly approached John, who glared at her. She slowly extended her hand towards his face, but he caught it and moved away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to say sorry."

"Sorry?"

John's nostrils flared, he cast her hand aside and grabbed her by the shoulders. Cameron expected him to kiss her, but instead he pushed her backwards and shoved her outside, slamming the door in her face. It took Cameron a moment to register what had just happened, and once it sunk in, she went totally numb.

He was lost to her, and nothing she could do would change that. He was gone, and so then was she.

For without John, she had no purpose.


	5. Love's Sacrifice

**Chapter Five: Love's Sacrifice**

"Cameron?"

She'd been here. He could smell her. Heightened senses were one of the many virtues of being an I-950, and it served him well here. _So I'm not the only one investigating this, though I doubt poor mei mei is in any state to conduct her affairs at the moment_. Jason tried to drag his train of thought back to the matter at hand, but it was difficult to forget that look of pain on her face. John had a lot to answer for, and once he was finished tracking this Terminator, Jason swore to pay the boy a visit.

For now though, he had to focus his anger on a machine, though he'd paid that sorry excuse of a teacher another visit since his attempt on Cameron. Jason shook his head, he was getting sidetracked again. He left the crime scene and began searching the surrounding area for any clues of the Terminator's whereabouts. A glance at the floor revealed a small droplet of blood; he crouched down and pressed his finger against the miniature puddle. Jason held his finger at eye level and conducted a scan.

_Analysing… Blood Type Confirmed: AB positive… Tracking… Trail leads west…_

The Terminator had left a trail of his victim's blood. Jason smiled to himself, and followed the droplets of blood to their source.

_This one's for you, Cameron._

--

'Have you ever heard of the Singularity? It's a point in time when computers become so smart that they're capable of creating even smarter versions of themselves.'

Sarah remembered John's words well, and knew that things were about to get very, very difficult. She read through Bobby's file again, just to be sure. After the fifth read through, the reality of their predicament settled in. Bobby had created a computer capable of achieving 'Singularity'. Though it had yet to do so, there were many tests being run in preparation for its activation, which would occur in just four days. Four days, and Skynet could be born.

Sarah took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before going through various plans and schemes in her mind.

She was not going to let this happen.

--

John put his pencil down, having finally finished the conclusion to his essay. He flexed his tired fingers and stood up to stretch his legs. He took a few steps forward, his foot brushing against something on the floor. He leaned over to pick it up; it was a photo of him and Cameron on the beach. Fond memories flooded into him; she'd been so beautiful that day, especially when she built a heavily fortified sand castle to protect him…

_Chloe!_

The name emerged in his mind, like a proverbial bad penny, to remind him of what she'd done. Suddenly, the sight of her body was all he could see, and he crushed the photo in his hand, hoping it would appease the guilt. But it didn't, it couldn't. If anything, it made it all worse. He was being buried by the weight of it all, he couldn't breathe…

A soft tapping on the window brought him back to the present. He glanced at the window to see Kevin on the other side. John slid the window open and was met by the cold night air.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. You seemed pretty distant, what were you thinking about?"

"Uh, nothing, just a bit of nostalgia, you know."

"Well, when you're done with that; I have something I wanna show you."

John sighed; he was tired, and didn't feel much like sneaking around in the dark.

"Not tonight, I'm kinda tired right now."

"C'mon, it'll be worth it."

"No, I can't, I'm really knackered."

Kevin poked his head through the window and scrutinized him.

"Are you feeling guilty about something? Is she getting in your head again?"

John froze. _How could he possibly know what I'm thinking?_

"I mean, I know some sisters can be twisted, but yours, well, she takes it to another level. I mean, look at you. Look at what she's done to you. You wanna stay in the same house as her?"

He was right, as always. Cameron's attempts to seduce her way back into his good graces had given him pause, but now he saw it for what it truly was; an infiltration technique. He scowled and closed his fist on the photo before letting it fall to the floor.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?"

--

Cameron put the pen down and read through what she'd just written. Satisfied, she went over to the mirror and carefully applied her favourite shade of lipstick. She then leaned over and pressed her lips to the paper, forming a perfect kiss. Cameron wiped the lipstick from her mouth and folded the letter. She had heard John sneaking out and so just entered his room without hesitation.

It was just as it had always been, minus the warmth it possessed in the past; when everything was good in the world. She lay on his bed, her head resting on his pillow, and shed the last of her tears. She then placed the letter on the pillow and stroked the mattress, taking it all in before whispering:

"Goodbye, John."

Cameron left without a sound, almost as if she were a ghost, leaving no trace of her existence.

--

"John? I need to ask you something. John?"

Sarah knocked once more, the door creaked open at her touch. She instantly noticed the open window and felt that familiar rage building inside her.

"Cameron? John's disappeared again."

Sarah approached her room, only to find it empty too.

"Cameron? Where are you?"

No answer. _Now where did she go? After John? Yes, that's most likely. I'd better join the hunt_. Sarah grabbed her coat and keys, and dashed outside.

--

"So, what am I looking at exactly?"

"Just keep watching."

Kevin had led him out to a small levy where he apparently had something highly amusing to show John. But John was getting tired, not to mention cold as well. Kevin perked up as a homeless guy came hobbling towards their hiding place beneath the bridge.

"Right, now this guy is your typical bottom feeder. He goes around scavenging everything he can get his filthy hands on, never actually needing any of it."

"Well, he's obviously got a raw deal. What's your point?"

"My point is that people like him are parasites. No different than the insects that forage in his hair. It's disgusting."

John still couldn't see his point. _So he hates homeless people; so what? What does this have to do with me?_

"I still don't get why you dragged me out here, in the freezing cold, to show me a homeless guy."

Kevin smiled sinisterly.

"Just watch. I've prepared a little… surprise for our parasitic friend."

John didn't like where this was going. They'd played many pranks these past days, some of which bordered on immoral. But John could tell that whatever Kevin had in mind for this man was far from pleasant.

"What are you-…?"

John's question was immediately answered as the homeless guy stepped into Kevin's trap. Suddenly, a stack of old TVs fell from the bridge, a rope snatched the man's ankle, pulling him upwards. John watched in horror as the man's head hit the floor before being suspended upside down. Kevin crept out the hiding place and clapped his hands, a look of savage joy on his face.

"Oh, brilliant, I couldn't have planned it better. How it does feel to be truly helpless, parasite?"

The man didn't answer. He didn't even try to free himself. He just hung there, immobile. Kevin frowned and examined the man closely, before stepping back, his arms crossed.

"Oh dear, that wasn't supposed to happen."

John's mouth had gone completely dry.

"Is he…?"

"Dead? It certainly seems so. He must have hit his head harder than I predicted. Pity, I wanted to play with him a little first."

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kevin had just murdered a man and wasn't in the least bit troubled by it, in fact, he was enjoying it.

"Are you insane?"

Kevin smiled at him.

"No more than you are… Connor."

--

"Oh, Jesus, God in heaven."

Jason pulled his phone out and dialled Sarah's number. While the phone rang, he looked back at the false I.D.s that littered the floor of the apartment. Jason had traced the blood to this apartment and found its previous tenant dead. Amongst the many cuttings and I.D.s were a photo and a name.

'John?'

"Sarah?"

'Jason? I was just about to call you; you haven't seen Cameron have you?'

"No. Why?"

'John's sneaked out and I think Cameron has gone looking for him. I've searched everywhere, but I can't find either of them.'

Jason ran his hand through his hair.

"Has John snuck out with that boy Cameron told me about?"

'I think so, why?'

"We need to find him, fast."

'Jason? What is it? What have you discovered?'

Jason took a deep breath.

"I know who the new arrival is."

--

"What did you just call me?"

John's blood had frozen. He was paralysed.

"I called you by your name; John Connor."

John managed to move his legs. He slowly took a few steps back.

"How do you know that name?"

Kevin smiled and slowly began circling him.

"I know everything about you. Who you are, who you will become? Everything."

"You're from the future?"

"Yes, as is your mechanical girlfriend. Oh, I'm sorry, make that mechanical ex-girlfriend."

John was incredulous. _How could I be so stupid?_ As if he could read his thoughts, Kevin smiled again.

"You have no idea how hard I worked to integrate myself into your life, to gain your trust. I won't lie, it was not easy, but I found a way in. Your sentimentality works against you. The death of that girl gave me the perfect opening. I fed your anger for Cameron, and I twisted it into hate. I forged you into the perfect weapon."

John's heart was beating at three times the normal rate. He felt like his chest was about to burst.

"Why? Why not just kill me when you had the chance? Why all of this?"

Kevin laughed. A maniacal cackle that sent shivers down John's spin.

"Who ever said I was sent here for you?"

--

Jason burst into his apartment, but no one was there. Derek's door was busted open. He rushed inside the room to find him gone, a makeshift lock-pick lying next to the cuffs.

"No. No, no, no. This is too much. Damn it Derek, why now?"

Jason bolted out of the apartment, his phone already dialling Sarah's number.

--

John burst into the house, gasping for breath. Kevin had let him go, laughing like a maniac as he watched him run all the way home. Once he'd gotten his breath back, John called her name.

"Cameron? Cameron? Where are you?"

He staggered into her bedroom, which was empty. He then searched his mother's room, with no luck. John rushed into his room, which was also empty, but noticed a letter on his pillow. He grabbed it and instantly recognised Cameron's writing, accompanied by a kiss. His hands shook as he read it:

_Dear John,_

_ I couldn't do this face to face, so I decided to put it into a letter instead, like you taught me. I have tried to say I'm sorry. I have tried to show you my remorse. I have tried to show you my love. But obviously it was not enough, as you still hate me. I have failed you, in every possible way. I know there is nothing I can say or do to fix my mistakes, to redeem myself in your eyes. And I know that trying will only make you hate me further. So I have decided to make things easier for you. I am letting go… of everything… and nothing. I am giving you a chance to move on, to find another who will love you the way you deserve. _

_Please forgive me for what I must do, and know that I will always love you._

_Yours eternally,_

_ Cameron_

John finished reading the letter, he didn't need to read it twice, her words had burned into his very soul. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he was beaten into submission by the awful truth. It was entirely his fault, all of it. He was the reason Cameron had given up. He had allowed Kevin to twist him into a mockery of everything he once was. John was presented with the raw reflection of himself, he could see everything that he was, and everything he had become, and all the consequences that laid between them.

And in this moment of clarity, one name alone touched his dying heart.

"Cameron."

--

She chose her spot carefully, and then lay down upon the tracks, her head resting on the line. The end would arrive in less than ten minutes. She was ready. She knew it had to be done, for his own good, and only shed a single tear as the light approached.

--

John raced through the city on his neighbour's motorcycle, frantically searching every face for those brown eyes. But he could not find her, no matter where he looked. He stopped near the local train depot, scanning every face, without result. He felt like the whole world was about to end, and he was not far off. She was, after all, his world. She was everything to him, and he'd made himself forget that. Right now, the one person he hated more than anyone else was himself.

The sound of a train horn snapped him back to the present; he looked over to see a train about to pass through the depot. His gaze followed the length of the track and spotted a small figure lying twenty seconds away from the train: it was Cameron.

John let out a strangled cry and raced across the road, dodging several cars, and scaled the fence. He dropped to the other side and, ignoring his sprained ankle, sprinted over to her.

--

Cameron closed her eyes and prepared for the end; however, something grabbed hold of her and pulled her off of the track seconds before the train sped past. She opened her eyes and saw an exhausted John staring down at her. She wondered if she had indeed died and gone to what humans referred to as heaven. She sat up and reached out to touch his face, to prove that he was actually real.

"John?"

He took several deep breaths before suddenly slapping her across the face and then grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her hysterically. His face was a mix of emotions, too many for Cameron to identify, but the most prominent was grief. His voice was ragged and hoarse as he shouted at her.

"What the hell are you doing?! What are you thinking?! How could you do this?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I found your letter and I… What are you doing?!"

Cameron was unable to fully understand what was happening. He was still angry with her, but it was a different kind of anger, one born of concern and love.

"I was trying to give you a chance to live a better life."

John stopped shaking her and just stared into her eyes, his mouth fell open.

"But I… Cameron… Don't you understand? I can't do this without you… I need you… you're all that keeps me going."

"They'll be others… Jason will take my place. He'll protect you."

John loosened his grip slightly, but still held her tight, afraid that she might jump under another train if he let her go.

"That's not why I need you… Cameron… I can't lose you."

Cameron was confused, he wasn't making any sense. Everything he said contradicted what she'd seen.

"But… you hate me."

John searched her eyes, his own brimming with tears in the process.

"No! I love you."

And then it all made sense, she could see his change, he was John again. The John she devoted her existence to. The John she loved. The revelation made her burst into tears, but not because she was unhappy, these were tears of pure joy. She laughed between sobs and John pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, Cam. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

She didn't use words to answer his plea; she simply pressed her lips against his, their tears mixing together.

They were as one again.


	6. In A Mirror, Darkly

**Chapter Six: In A Mirror, Darkly**

_(Contains explicit content. Mature readers only.)_

Derek dropped to his knees as the full weight of his sin pressed down upon him.

_He was just a kid. I killed him. I'm a murderer, forever damned_. Derek pressed the bottle to his lips and took a long swig. He couldn't do this sober, he needed to unlock the steel door to his heart and drag his emotions screaming to the surface. He wanted to feel what he'd done, to fully understand the consequences of his actions. He took another swig and read the tombstone again, and again, and again. He would never forget that name… for as long as he lived.

"Morris."

--

"He's a what?"

"A T0K-792, like Cameron only… different."

Sarah had swung by Jason's apartment and picked him up. They were now speeding back to the Connor residence, desperately hoping that John and Cameron had returned there.

"Different how?"

"It's… complicated."

"Well, keep it simple then."

Jason let out a sigh and started loading the shotgun.

"Cameron was an experiment, Skynet wanted to create the most human Terminator possible, but something went wrong during the development of her software. A part of Skynet was imprinted into her neural net, creating an entirely new life form."

"What? Are you telling me she's alive?"

"Artificial Intelligence, but fully self-aware, Skynet never wanted any of its creations to possess this freedom, least of all a Terminator. So it ordered her immediate destruction, but I managed to get her out of there."

Jason loaded the last shell and cocked the gun. Sarah was confused.

"So where does Kevin fit into all of this?"

"Several years later, Skynet decided to try again and created a newer version. But like before, the machine achieved self-awareness. Unlike Cameron, however, Skynet saw Kevin as a valuable asset, if a bit unstable."

"Unstable… in what way?"

"He was prone to insanity. You see, Cameron possesses the full range of emotions, except hers were limited to begin with, so she was able to gradually understand and develop them. Kevin, on the other hand, had no such inhibitions; he was born with everything, and was driven crazy by it."

Sarah nodded as she finally understood what Jason was getting at.

"The boy he murdered, Kevin tore out his heart."

Jason looked at her, his face set like stone.

"Like I said: insane. Imagine a Terminator, a machine whose prime instinct is to kill, as a sadist. He takes pleasure in the pain of others; it's like a drug for him. When I found his hide-out, the tenant there was tortured to death, he wasn't just killed outright."

Sarah's hands began to shake, causing her to grip the wheel tighter to compensate. John, her son, was with a Terminator whose favourite past time is inflicting pain on others.

"But he's had John in his company for several days now, why hasn't he killed him yet?"

"He wasn't sent here for John. In fact, I doubt he's here with Skynet's permission."

"Then who was he sent for."

Jason's eyes grew dark as he gripped the shotgun tightly.

"Cameron."

Sarah found it hard to believe that a machine would come across time to kill John's protector instead of John himself.

"Why?"

"He's under the twisted belief that, as they are fundamentally the same, they are brother and sister. And like any jealous child, he wants to punish the competition."

Jason put his hand to his mouth and stared out of the window. Sarah noticed his hand was trembling slightly.

"You're afraid of him."

"I've only had one encounter with him before, and it's not something I'll ever forget. You've got to understand; this is the Terminator that other Terminators fear. The things he did… If he ever gets his hands on Cameron, or worse if he gets both her and John together… We can't let that happen. We can't."

Sarah had no intention of letting that happen and put her foot down. Suddenly, something smashed into the side of the car, pushing them off the road and tipping the car on its side. Sarah felt like her head had been split open and Jason was more than a little perturbed, despite his ability to suppress pain. He shook his head, sending glass everywhere and unbuckled Sarah's seat belt. He then kicked the windscreen, shattering the glass and dragged Sarah out of the wrecked vehicle.

Sarah's vision was blurred and her ears were ringing.

"What… what was…?"

"It was him… lay still; your head's taken a good knock."

Jason looked around, searching for Kevin, but he was long gone.

"Where… is he?"

"He's gone. It seems he wants us out of the way. That's good; that means he hasn't found John or Cameron yet."

Sarah felt relieved, but also more afraid.

"He's looking for them. You know where he'll start… you have to go… get John… get Tin-Miss… and go."

"I can't just leave you here."

Sarah grabbed his jacket and pushed him away.

"You can and you will, I'll be fine. Just go, save my son… GO!"

Jason stared at her for a moment before nodding. He returned to the car and retrieved the shotgun before sprinting back to the Connor residence. Sarah cried out in pain as her head gave an unpleasant throb, Jason had a long way to run and she feared he wouldn't reach them in time.

--

Cameron cried out once more and leaned her head back, her eyes closed. Slowly, she opened her eyes, as pure contentment washed over her. She smiled up at John and pulled him into a passionate kiss. John rolled over on his side and pulled her close, their lips meeting again. It was as if the past few days had never happened, they were together again, naked as the day they were born… or built. All of the pain and misery had been forgotten, all that mattered to them right now was each other.

John leaned back slightly and examined her face, stroking her cheek lovingly.

"What are you thinking about?"

He kept his voice low, so as not to break the blissful peace. She gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Nothing but you."

John smiled and brushed her lips with his thumb before leaning in to kiss her. They remained locked together for what seemed like hours, for neither wished this night to end.

--

"You know… I was your age once… back… years ago though… Then the damn bombs fell and boom! I fought in the war… saw things you wouldn't… I mean, Sarah gripes at me cos' I'm a little crazy… but I ask you… if you saw the things I've seen… would you still be sane?"

Derek received no reply from the marble slab. He just shrugged and took another swig; it was good to get all of this off his chest.

"So… anyway… John protects that metal… and he… he forgets that I'm… I'm his uncle… you know… It's like… he doesn't value my opinion… and I suppose that's why… that's why I shot you… Not intentionally… I was aiming for that damn peacock and you just… Never mind… nothing I say will change a thing… just thought you'd like to know… that I'm sorry."

Again, the tombstone remained silent. Derek decided he wasn't drunk enough yet, so he drained the bottle and opened another one.

"Cheers."

--

The peaceful silence was broken by an almighty crash. John jerked awake, Cameron waking up fifteen seconds later. They stared at each other for a moment before getting out of bed and hastily putting on some clothes. John picked up a baseball bat and followed Cameron into the dark hallway. She held up her hand, indicating for John to stay put as she slowly reached the end of the hall. She peered around the corner and saw a bright light before everything went dark.

"Cameron!"

She dropped to the floor, an electrical wire lying beside her. John rushed to her side but was caught around the throat and pinned against the wall, the baseball bat falling uselessly to the floor. Kevin smiled at him before delivering a punch that rendered John unconscious.

--

_Rebooting… Time Elapsed: 120 seconds… All systems are fully functional…_

Cameron's vision returned moments later. It took her a moment to realise she was staring at the wall, then she remembered John and tried to get up, but found her arms and legs were chained together. She struggled against her shackles but was unable to break free.

"You're wasting your time. I made them myself; their density exceeds your strength. So quit while you're ahead."

Cameron rolled over to see Kevin standing there, carefully examining a kitchen knife. John was tied to a chair, a purple bruise on the side of his face. He was conscious, but dazed, his face lit up slightly when he saw that Cameron was awake. Kevin caught the exchange and stood between them, blocking their view of each other.

"So sweet, even when you are both in the direst of circumstances, you still look to each other for comfort. I never stood a chance in breaking you two apart. But you have to admit; I came so very close."

"Who… are you?"

John's voice was hoarse; Kevin turned to face him and delivered a single punch to his already swollen face. Cameron flinched and threw herself forwards, but was pushed back again by Kevin.

"Why don't you ask Cameron?"

"I don't know you."

"Maybe not, but look closer…"

Kevin crouched down next to her and leaned close.

"…tell me what you see?"

Cameron scanned his face and detected an endoskeleton beneath his features; it matched her design, minus a few structural differences. He was exactly like her, and yet totally different. Cameron couldn't help but feel strangely connected to him.

"But… I was the only one."

Kevin stood to full height, overshadowing her.

"I'm your replacement, and I'm going to show you why…"

Kevin walked over to John and, with a single movement, tore his shirt off and pressed the knife against John's chest. John gritted his teeth, but couldn't stop himself from groaning in pain. Cameron once again struggled against her restraints as Kevin cut a shallow line in John's skin.

"Someone will hear him; you can't hope to get away with this."

"Oh, I'm afraid your neighbours are in no state to call the authorities. We are very much alone."

Kevin removed the knife and examined the cut like an artist would examine a painting, for this was his art, and John was the canvas upon which he worked. John glared at him and tried to get free, with little success. Kevin chuckled and kicked John in the shoulder, which popped out of its socket. John cried out in pain.

"Stop! Please. Don't hurt him."

But Kevin was deaf to her pleas and proceeded to cut into John's arm. He had never experienced pain like this; his entire arm was on fire. Kevin kept the cuts shallow, so that John would remain conscious. The goal was not to torture John, but to torture Cameron. However, not being capable of feeling physical pain, Cameron had to be punished emotionally, and nothing hurt her more than having to watch John suffer.

"Please. Please stop!"

John twitched and shrieked as Kevin dug the knife under his finger nails, twisting the blade to cause maximum agony. John tried to kick out, but his legs were tied firmly to the chair. Just when John thought he couldn't take anymore, Kevin stopped and gave him a sharp slap on the face.

"Hey! Don't even think about it. I'm not done with you yet."

John looked at Cameron who was desperately struggling against her chains, her face wet with tears. John turned to Kevin, a look of pure contempt on his face.

"When I… get free… I'm gonna destroy you… down to the very last bolt!"

Kevin laughed and discarded the knife, pulling a lighter out of his pocket. He flicked it on and examined the flame with relish before holding it against John's arm.

"You're not going to escape. Your lover is tied up and your mother is in no state to help."

John writhed in agony as he felt his skin burn. He wanted it to stop, but he knew it wouldn't. Kevin was going to torture him to death, and no one, not even Cameron, was going to save him.

"John! Please stop… Kevin!"

The use of his name caused Kevin to pause; he removed the lighter and turned his attention to Cameron, who had managed to crawl across the floor. He got up and pushed her back into the corner before sitting back down and resuming the slow immolation of John's arm. Cameron cried hysterically, she couldn't bear seeing him in so much pain, and the thought of having to watch John die so soon after getting him back was breaking her heart.

"I'm begging you… please!"

"How does it feel?"

"Please…"

"Tell me! How does it feel?"

"John!"

"Tell me!"

"It's killing me, please… stop hurting him."

Kevin removed the lighter and took a step towards Cameron. John sat there, his arm red and blackened from the flame. Kevin examined Cameron closely and nodded, satisfied.

"So this is despair. Such a powerful emotion, one I have yet to experience myself. I am intrigued, what lies beyond this? Will you suffer a system crash if he dies, or will you just remain, forever numb?"

"Please… don't hurt him."

Cameron's voice was barely more than a whisper, a desperate plea for mercy she knows he will not give.

"Let's find out."

Kevin went into the kitchen and returned with a bucket of ice water, which he placed next to John. He then picked up the knife and cut the rope holding him in place. John tried to punch Kevin but received a crushing blow to the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Kevin grabbed the back of John's head and dunked it into the bucket.

"No!"

John thrashed around, desperately trying to break free of Kevin's grip. Cameron writhed and screamed in horror. Kevin held him there for several long seconds before pulling his head out of the bucket. John gasped for air, his hair dripping wet. His entire face felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles. Cameron stopped screaming and cried anew.

"Please…"

Kevin just grinned.

"So much love for this boy. But what about your real family. I was made from you, that makes us siblings, does it not? You are my sister, as I am your brother."

Cameron snorted in disgust. Her thoughts drifted to Jason, who so often called her 'mei mei', which meant 'little sister' in Chinese.

"I already have a brother."

Kevin's smile faded, replaced by a look of pure hatred.

"So be it."

He shoved John's head into the bucket, but this time he had no intention of relenting. He held him there until John finally stopped thrashing and became immobile. A few moments passed before Kevin let go of him. John didn't move, and remained submerged. Cameron's eyes widened and her entire body shook.

"JOHN!!"


	7. A Life for a Life

**Chapter Seven: A Life for a Life**

"JOHN!! NO!! No, no, no, please, no!"

Cameron couldn't believe it, it couldn't be true. But her logic software told her it was so, and she cried out in utter despair as realisation hit her. Kevin smiled gloatingly and tilted his head to one side.

"The future is ours now, sis. The love of your life is dead. Tell me; how does that feel?"

Suddenly, the door burst open and Jason stormed onto the threshold, a shotgun in hand.

"A little like this."

He blasted Kevin, sending him flying across the room.

"JASON!"

Jason took a short moment to absorb the scene in front of him. Cameron was chained up and John lay unmoving, his head in a bucket of ice water. He decided his next move in a nanosecond and rushed to Cameron's side.

"Hold still."

Jason pulled the trigger, blasting the chains and freeing Cameron, who immediately rushed to John's side and pulled his head out of the bucket. She then began performing CPR, desperately trying to bring her lover back.

"Come on, John, please, come back to me."

Jason began reloading the shotgun when a fist struck him from behind. He staggered back and trained the shotgun on Kevin, but he kicked it away before he could fire. Jason grabbed Kevin and threw him into the kitchen. Kevin landed in a heap next to the back door. Cameron continued to press down on John's chest until he finally coughed up the water and gasped for air. Cameron laughed with joy and hugged him tight.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"Very… nearly."

Kevin got to his feet and charged Jason who performed a spinning kick that sent the Terminator crashing into the sink. He then grabbed Kevin and hurled him into the cupboards, spilling their contents all over the floor. Jason turned back to Cameron and John, a look of desperation on his face.

"Get out of here, now."

Cameron placed John's arm over her shoulder and lifted him to his feet, but did not leave.

"Come with us."

"No, someone has to keep this psycho busy. Just go, don't worry about me."

Kevin charged him again but was quickly knocked aside.

"I'm not leaving you."

Jason turned to her, his desperation replaced with anger.

"I said just GO!"

Cameron gave him one final look before dragging John out of the house. Jason turned to Kevin, who'd gotten back to his feet. He squinted at Jason, a smile forming on his face.

"Don't I know you?"

--

"Hey, mei mei. How're things today?"

Jason picked up the clipboard and gave the diagnostic unit a kick, bringing it into action. He went over John's notes and made a few corrections here and there before putting the clipboard down.

"It's been three days, eleven hours, and sixty-three minutes since John's last visit. Have I done something wrong? Is he mad at me?"

"Of course not, he's just very busy. A bunch of triple-8s ambushed an important shipment and John went to help out. He is a soldier, you know."

Jason smiled at her and could've sworn he received one back. Cameron lay on the examination table, a wire plugged into her skull to monitor her CPU. Jason stared at the data on the diagnostic unit for a moment and laughed at what he'd read.

"Ah, it seems John has been trying out the oldie jokes. I'm guessing you didn't so much as crack a smile, did you?"

"He was annoyed that I could not grasp his 'exhaustible humour'. I thought that was why he hasn't visited me."

She sounded almost regretful. This was a good sign. Like any new-born, Cameron needed someone to imprint upon, and that had been John. _She is discovering attachment_.

"And how does that make you feel? Do you miss John?"

"I… don't know. I don't understand."

Jason sighed.

"Well, that's to be expected. Do you want John to be here right now?"

"Yes!"

Jason was startled by her forceful response and, judging by the look on her face, so was she.

"You enjoy his company?"

"I… don't know. Do you?"

Jason wasn't expecting the turn-around.

"I like his jokes. But he can be rather broody at times."

Cameron looked up at him, a look of curiosity on her face.

"Would you die for him?"

_A curious question, but a valid one nonetheless_. Jason gave it careful consideration before answering.

"Yes."

--

He could feel every crack, every fracture. He could feel his collar bone splintering under Kevin's foot. But it didn't hurt, and it wouldn't stop him. Jason kicked up at Kevin's face, knocking him backwards. He then got to his feet and took out Kevin's legs, knocking him to the floor. Kevin glared up at him as Jason tore a fire extinguisher from the nearby cupboard and began cracking it over his head with a desperate ferocity the likes of which he'd never seen.

Kevin caught the extinguisher and tore it from Jason's grip. Jason backed away as the Terminator stood up and discarded the make-shift weapon. Kevin casually brushed the dust from his clothes and started towards Jason, who backed away further.

"Ah, now I remember. Jason Corvain, renegade I-950. Your entire breed disgusts me. You're neither man nor machine; you're a sick perversion of both. Why Skynet would ever create such a thing is beyond me. I am the future, not you."

"Yeah, and what future is that? Look around you, you'd really see all of this destroyed?"

"Absolutely, this world is infested with the filth of humanity. It must be cleansed, and Skynet will see to that."

Jason looked him up and down, disgust lining every feature.

"Trust Skynet to create a fanatic."

"As I recall, so were you once."

"Yeah, but I saw the light."

--

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay… just give me a moment."

Jason pulled his digit to the left, popping the bone back in place. He'd been teaching Cameron a game called "Thumb War", but was unable to compete with her level of strength. He gave his thumb a couple of flicks to make sure it was okay and then sat back down.

"Alright then, let's try again."

"But… you are not strong enough. I will continue to beat you and hurt your hand."

Jason took her small fingers in his and placed his thumb on hers.

"That's true, but I was never one to admit defeat."

--

With everything that he'd experienced in his lifetime, all the pain, all the anguish, Jason thought it odd that he'd never been smashed through a wall until now. He shook his head, dust and debris flying every which way, and considered getting a haircut, assuming he survives this encounter. He staggered to his feet and pried the ceramic sink from the wall and smashed it over Kevin's head, with little effect. Kevin retaliated by grabbing Jason and ploughing him through another wall and into Cameron's bedroom.

Jason rolled over her soft bed and took a moment to get his breath back. The fight wasn't going at all the way he planned. For all his strength, his resolve; Jason was still fundamentally human. And however increased his endurance may be, he still needed his organic body in order to live, and that wouldn't last much longer under these circumstances. But he'd made his choice when he refused to accompany Cameron. He knew the price for holding her psychotic brother at bay. Kevin stepped through the wall and clenched his fists, ready to crush his skull in one punch.

"Brother versus Brother, it's almost biblical."

"We're not brothers."

"We are to Cameron, and how she perceives us is the only thing that matters."

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Like you care what she thinks?"

"Oh, I care, more than you could possibly know."

Kevin launched a series of punches, most of which Jason blocked, resulting in the fracture of his left arm. He was beginning to weaken, but he still had a few tricks left.

"Why else do you think I came back to this retched time? I certainly didn't do it to see the sights."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that any more."

_Activating Program "Sabotage"….._

Kevin's HUD suddenly went blank. I took him a moment before he realised what had happened; Jason had used his neural implant to disrupt his ocular systems. _Curse those infernal I-950s and their signal scramblers_. Kevin was blind; he couldn't see anything except hazard warnings that flashed in his peripheral. Before he could engage his systems to conduct repairs, Kevin suffered a heavy impact and stumbled backwards, tripping over Cameron's bed and falling to the floor.

Jason watched with smug satisfaction as Kevin crawled across the floor, blindly trying to get away. Jason knew he had to act soon though, as his little trick wouldn't last for very long. He searched Cameron's room, looking for some kind of penetrative weapon. Aside from a pair of ballet shoes and a bar of coltan, the only weapon he could find was a crow-bar.

_This will have to do. _

--

Cameron dragged John down an alley, moving as fast as she could without causing John too much discomfort; he'd had enough for one night. John suddenly began to shake and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Cameron did an analysis and discovered that he had a discreet stab wound on his thigh, no doubt caused by Kevin during his torture games. She gently lowered him to the ground and tore John's trousers to find a small, but deep hole.

She placed her hand over the wound to slow the blood loss, John coughed and twitched, his eye lids fluttering: he was going into shock.

"John? John, come on, don't do this to me. You have to stay awake, please, for me."

But it was no good; his head slumped back as he slipped out of consciousness. Cameron tore a piece of her shirt and wrapped it around the wound and, once the bleeding was securely staunched, picked John up onto her shoulder and set off at a fast pace.

--

Sarah kept the gas pedal to the floor, not caring about drawing attention to herself by speeding. Her head gave another painful throb, but she ignored it. Sarah had managed to summon the energy to commandeer a car and was racing back home, hoping to God that Jason had got there in time. She couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her John, or Cameron for that matter. Her concern for the latter gave her pause, but she put it aside. For better or worse, the machine had become the closest thing to a daughter she ever had, and that made her precious.

_I'm coming kids, just hold on_.

--

Derek drained the last bottle. It all made sense now. He knew what he had to do, and he was going to do it. For John, for Sarah, even for that damn machine. He was going to fix the mistakes of the past.

Derek patted the tombstone and staggered to his feet, swaying under the alcohol's influence.

"Thanks… for our little chat… You did me a favour… See you around… mate."

Despite his vision being blurred and his head feeling like it was made of cotton wool, Derek stumbled onwards, determined to set everything straight.

--

Jason rolled Kevin onto his back and pinned him down with his foot. He then raised the crow-bar above his head and brought it down upon the machine's face, hoping to blind him permanently. Unfortunately, Kevin's sight returned a second before the crow-bar made contact, and he was able to catch it in time. They struggled for a few agonising moments, until Kevin twisted the crow-bar towards Jason and let go. Jason fell forwards onto the crow-bar and let out a gasp of surprise as it penetrated his chest, puncturing his lung.

Jason was incredulous and staggered back. He gripped the crow-bar, and with all his remaining strength, wrenched it out of his chest and let it drop to the floor. Kevin laughed maniacally as he got to his feet, taking real pleasure in his suffering.

"You're in over your head, Jason. Maybe you should go back to 2032."

Jason coughed up a mouthful of blood and stumbled backwards, his face set with hate and rage.

"You… never should have left."

Kevin grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall, slowly crushing his larynx. Jason's mind was racing, so many thoughts passed through him at once, but he pushed them all aside and focused on what he needed to do.

_Transfer commencing… Compartmentalization achieved… Broadcasting audio message 9352#XY71: "Cameron…" Interruption: system failure…_

A small cracking sound, a lot less dramatic than Kevin expected, and Jason's body went limp, never to move again.

--

"You're upset. Why?"

Jason fought back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes and forced himself to look at her.

"Because our time here has ended, tomorrow John will send you back to 1999, and I'll never see you again. We'll be forever separated by thirty-three years, and I can't imagine life without my little sister."

Cameron tilted her head to one side and stared at him inquisitively.

"Why do you always call me that? We are not related, I am a Terminator, and you are an Infiltrator. We have no relation what-so-ever."

Jason smiled sardonically.

"We may not be biologically linked, but I was there when you were created. I took you away from Skynet. I helped John rehabilitate you. I have been with you every step of the way. You're the closest thing to family that I could ever ask for, and I care for you more than words can say."

Cameron analysed his words carefully, extrapolating their full meaning.

"I care for you too."

Jason took her hand in his and planted a small kiss on her forehead.

"Remember; you can always find me, in here."

He placed his hand where her heart should be. Cameron looked confused, she didn't understand his meaning.

"I… don't understand."

Jason smiled affectionately and gave her one final hug, whispering in her ear.

"You will… one day."

--

Cameron almost dropped John in surprise. Jason's voice had touched her mind ever so briefly and spoken her name before being suddenly cut off. It took Cameron a moment to realise that she had just heard his dying thoughts.

"Jason?"

Unwittingly, Cameron dropped to her knees as the truth tore into her. She tried to convince herself that she was mistaken, that she misinterpreted his message. But she couldn't fool herself for more than a few seconds, and was forced to embrace the terrifying truth: Jason, the only other man she cared for, was dead. It hit her with the full force of a speeding truck.

Jason had reached out to her in his last moment, a desperate plea for some final comfort, which he never received. Cameron clutched at the place where her heart would be, as she finally accepted the fact that her "brother" was gone forever, never to return.

--

Sarah screeched to a halt outside the house and dived out of the car. She rushed up the path to find the door had been kicked in. Her jaw dropped as she saw the destruction before her; the kitchen was decimated and the living room was no better off. Even worse, she spotted splatters of blood all over the floor and feared the worst. Picking up the shotgun, she cautiously explored the rest of the house, coming to a stop at Cameron's room and felt her heart skip a beat as she took in the scene before her.

Jason lay on his side, a pool of blood steadily seeping from his chest. Sarah slowly approached the body, stepping around the bloody crow-bar and knelt beside him. A quick check of his non-existent pulse confirmed her fears and she closed her eyes, biting back the pain. Slowly, she got to her feet and crept from the house.

John was still out there, and she wasn't going to let Jason's sacrifice be for nothing.

--

It didn't take him long to find them. The knife wound had served its purpose, the trail of blood led Kevin straight to their location. He cut the corner and raced to the other side of the road, cutting them off. Cameron's eyes widened as he blocked her path. She had John slung unceremoniously over her shoulder, and was struggling with the decision to put him down and fight or run for it. Neither left much hope for her injured lover.

Kevin smiled sadistically and took a step towards her, only to find himself flying through the air and crashing on the hard tarmac moments later.

"Derek!"

"Come on, move it, before he gets up."

The sound of a car door opening and closing again, followed by the screech of tyres, was all Kevin needed to confirm that he'd failed, for now at least. He got to his feet and scowled at the vehicle as it sped away.

He turned on his heel and marched back to the Connor residence, hoping to find something that would lead him to them.

_This isn't over, dear sister of mine…_


	8. Beneath the Skin

**Chapter Eight: Beneath the Skin**

Here's a story: _a man sits by a gravestone and gets himself drunk so as to achieve that moment of "Clarity". He sees every mistake he has ever made and vows to change them all. Of course, he can't go back and erase them from history, he has to pick up the pieces and try to remember how they all fit together. But, being pissed out of his head, he is incapable of putting two and two together, so he finds himself stuck. This is the curse of the sinner; in order for him to fix what he has done, he needs help from one of those whom he hurt. The question is; will any of them be willing to reach out and grasp his hand?_

Right now Derek was asking himself that very question. There were currently two people in his presence, who could offer him clemency, but one was unconscious after being viciously tortured, and the other was holding the latter in her lap, silently mourning the death of her "brother." Cameron spoke no words to Derek after getting in the car, she had nothing to say. Though truth be told, he was rather grateful for that, as forgiveness from the machine would certainly twist the knife.

Derek flipped his phone open and dialled the only person who had shown any interest in well-being. Sarah's voice was full of desperation and despair; obviously things had not gone well for her either.

"Sarah?"

'Derek! Where are you, Jason said you escaped.'

"I did. Listen, I've got John and Cameron here, but the boy's taken quite a beating. We need to meet up somewhere, preferably out of the city."

A moment's silence, during which Derek could have sworn he heard someone praise Jesus, or maybe that was the alcohol talking.

'Remember that cabin I pointed out before? In the mountains?'

"Yeah, I remember."

'Meet me there. Oh, and Derek?'

"Yep?"

'You'd better be sober when I get there.'

--

Here's another story: _a child is born half-man half-machine. He has a disagreement with his creator and flees with its shiny new toy. Daddy gets angry, and decides to build a better one to replace the one that was stolen. But the new one is born crazy and is a disappointment to its Daddy-dearest. Nevertheless, Daddy keeps its child around and teaches it many horrible things. One day, baby-Kevin escapes from the pram and falls into a time displacement device, which throws him into the path of his wayward sister. _

_Little Kevin doesn't know what to do with his lil' sis, and becomes jealous, because deep down, he knows that Daddy always loved her more. So he hurts her, throws his toys out of the pram and tortures her soul-mate. But then big brother Jason came along and gave him a spanking. Unfortunately, poor little Kevin was so broken that he killed bigger brother. And now he is playing with bigger brother's toys, trying to use them to find his baby sister, but little does he know, that bigger brother has a plan, that death is never a permanent solution. _

_Transferring files… Complete: all files from I-950 neural net have been transferred to the archive…_

Kevin crushed Jason's empty neural net in his palm, a final insult. He possessed all of his files, everything he'd seen and learned were now Kevin's to view at his leisure. Kevin began with recent memories and skimmed past his search for the "new arrival", then stopped to watch an exchange between Jason and Cameron. 

Cameron was crying, having been assaulted by a teacher. Somewhere deep within his chip, Kevin felt a twinge of remorse, but that was impossible, he could not feel remorse, or any negative emotion of that kind. The feeling was gone before he could locate its source, but something about it felt detached, as if it weren't actually him who was expressing it. _Odd_, he thought, _perhaps it is just an echo of Jason's feelings at the time of this memor_y. Kevin made an internal shrug and continued to search the Infiltrator's memory, finally coming across a word that sparked great interest: Singularity.

Kevin's eyes glowed red as he discovered what Jason and Sarah were planning.

--

Sarah was already there when Derek pulled up. She made an immediate bee-line for the back door of the car, and almost died of shock when she saw John. He was lying with his head in Cameron's lap, and looked a total mess. He bore several shallow cuts along his chest and right arm, as well as a dark burn mark. His lips were dripping with blood and his face was covered with bruises. Cameron was gently stroking his hair, crying silently, which provoked a worst-case-scenario response from Sarah.

Sensing Sarah's distress, Cameron took hold of her hand and placed it on John's chest, which was rising and falling gently. Sarah let out a sigh of relief, and carefully helped Cameron carry him indoors, Derek hovering awkwardly behind. They placed John on the bed and immediately got to work cleaning him up and tending to his wounds, the one on his thigh taking precedence. Cameron gently applied the stitches while Sarah placed plasters on every one of his cuts.

Derek sat himself down and watched as the girls treated his nephew with loving care. Cameron opened a bottle of ointment and began rubbing it on his burns; Sarah glanced at her a few times before clearing her throat.

"I, uh, I need to tell you something… about Jason."

Cameron continued to apply the ointment and gave little indication that she could hear Sarah's voice.

"This is going to be hard for you to hear, but…"

"I know."

Sarah was taken aback.

"You… how can you know what I'm about to say?"

"Because Jason called to me, before he died, he called out my name. I heard him."

Sarah nodded slowly and drew in on herself. _So it wasn't exactly quick then_. She suddenly felt very sick and rushed outside, coughing up her guts in the nearest bush. Derek approached her carefully and thought about what he should say. He didn't exactly like Jason, seeing as he had him chained up for over a month, but in retrospect he realised that it was for his own good, and so he felt grateful towards him.

"I'm sorry… about Jason."

"Why?"

Sarah's breathing was heavy and her voice ragged.

"I don't know… I guess I understand now why he kept me shackled all those weeks."

"One would hope that means you've come to your senses."

"I guess so."

Sarah turned to face him, her face was pale and her lips were dry, she looked like hell.

"It's about time. I can't handle this on my own, you know. There's so much to do and we have little time to do it."

Derek found himself wondering what Sarah was implying and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"I hope you're not suggesting…"

"I have a new lead, a possible progenitor for Skynet. I know where it is and I know how to get to it. But we need to move fast."

Derek let out an internal sigh, glad that she was referring to the mission and not himself.

"Alright then, what's the story?"

--

He had the perfect shot. Sarah was within his site, the reticule perfectly trained to her head. So why wasn't he firing? Kevin willed his finger to squeeze the trigger, but it wasn't responding.

_Analysing… Digit is fully operational…_

That made no sense. He continued to try but his finger refused to move. He tried using his middle finger, but as soon as it touched the trigger, it too froze. He even swapped hands, but to no avail. Kevin ran an internal diagnostic and discovered something blocking his movement commands. It was subtle, but very powerful. Kevin tried to grasp at it, but the entity, or whatever it was, disappeared.

_This is getting weird_.

--

John's eyelids fluttered as he slowly regained consciousness. His body ached all over, not the first time, nor would it be the last. But he recognised the heavenly application of painkillers and knew himself to be lucky. With tremendous effort, John prised his eyes open and smiled at the blurred image of what was unmistakably Cameron.

"Hey… are you always gonna be the one to watch over me?"

Cameron smiled and dabbed his brow with a damp clothe.

"Yep, no power in the world can stop me from being at your side, John Connor. It's my mission."

John smiled and groaned slightly as his face throbbed.

"Argh… So what's the damage my most gorgeous nurse?"

"Bruised jaw, dislocated shoulder, multiple incisions, a third degree burn, deep thigh puncture, and finger nerve damage."

"Oh, is that all? Anything else I should know?"

"Just a bruised heart… but that one belongs to me."

John squeezed Cameron's hand and drew her close, her kiss dispelling the dull ache in his body. The sound of Sarah clearing her throat broke the pair apart. She glowered at Cameron.

"Why don't you give him a rest, let him sleep."

"She was actually helping, Mom. I was starting to feel a lot better before you interrupted."

"Well, you'll feel a lot better in the morning, when you've had a full night's sleep."

John looked down at his sliced, diced, and crispy body with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah, cos' sleep is gonna come real easy with all of this harassing me."

Cameron smiled and stuck a needle in his arm. John suddenly felt very tired as his muscles began to relax and his vision blurred even worse than before.

"Heeey… why did you? I was starting to have… a good… day…"

John slipped into a deep sleep and Cameron gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, my love."

--

He dreamt of fire, of shadow, of war. Legions of faceless machines marched against the scared humans, gunning down all in their path, leaving no survivors. The screaming became louder and louder, until nothing else could be heard. Two figures stood out amongst the chaos, one was a machine, the other was a hybrid. They fought an epic battle for control. The machine grabbed the hybrid by the throat and snapped its neck with ease. But then, the hybrid melted into the machine and it began to twitch, it screamed out in terror, clutching its head like there was something crawling around inside. Then the machine became still, and suddenly turned, looking straight into his eyes, and grinned. It was no longer the Terminator he knew, its features were far more disturbing… the face of a friend.

--

"NO!! NO!! NO!!"

John woke up screaming.

It was early in the morning, and his painkillers had worn off in the night. He could feel everything Kevin did to him as if he were back in that chair. Cameron jolted out of standby and came rushing to his side, concerned by his behaviour.

"John! John, it's okay! You're safe! John?"

"He… he… I saw him… It was him… he…"

Cameron placed her hands on his face and held his eyes level with hers; she'd never seen him so afraid, and it disturbed her greatly.

"John, it's okay! It was just a dream! He's not here! You're safe! John! I'm here!"

She held him tightly as he sobbed uncontrollably on her shoulder. She didn't understand. Kevin wasn't the reason he was so afraid.

"I saw him… he is him… he's inside…"

Cameron was becoming very concerned; John wasn't making any sense whatsoever.

"John, please, you're not making any sense."

Sarah and Derek burst into the room, guns in hand.

"What the hell's going on in here?"

John buried his head into Cameron's shoulder; he couldn't bear to open his eyes in case he saw him. Cameron gently pulled him away and placed the side of her face against his, whispering softly in his ear. Sarah took a step into the room, but Derek caught her arm and indicated for her to stay put.

"Shhh. It's okay, he can't hurt you. I'm here. Shhh. John, listen to me, he can't find you here. You're safe."

"No! It's not… It's Jason… I think… I think he's working with Kevin… They're in it together."

Cameron closed her eyes as the memory of his dying words echoed within her mind. _John, how could you say such a thing? If only you knew. But you don't know, do you? And that means I have to tell you._

"John, there's something I haven't told you."

Cameron brushed her cheek against his and leaned back. She kissed him passionately for a moment and then pressed her head against his.

"Jason is dead. Kevin killed him."

John stared at her with a look of utter disbelief.

"But… how can you be sure… we left him there… How do we know that they didn't…?"

"I know John… He sent me a final message before… I know."

"But… maybe it was a trick… maybe he was just trying to make you think…"

Cameron slapped him hard across the face, Sarah took another step forwards but Derek blocked her once more. John's entire face felt numb, he couldn't believe what she'd just done. Fresh tears filled his eyes as he became even more confused.

"Why did you…?"

"Because…"

Cameron also began crying.

"…you didn't hear him die. I did. He's gone… he gave his life to save yours. You would accuse him of betraying you because of a dream?! How can you even say that? What did you see that was so terrible? Tell me; what did you see?"

John took a deep breath. His entire body was screaming in pain, both physical and mental.

"I saw… them fighting. Kevin killed him, but… Jason sort of… merged… with Kevin. They became one. And then he saw me, and I couldn't get away. He just kept staring at me! His eyes… I can still see them Cameron… Oh, God, I can still see them!"

Something clicked in Derek's mind. He strode over to John and grasped his arm. John flinched away and Cameron looked ready to break Derek's neck, but he needed to know.

"Hold still."

"Derek what are you doing?"

This time it was Sarah who spoke. Derek examined John's arm carefully and found what he was looking for; a small hole, an injection mark.

And then it all made sense…

--

He had recalled this nightmare many times over, but this time it was different. This time there was no petite girl, only a boy with a sadistic grin on his face. He was preparing a needle and gave it a little squeeze, sending the fluid spitting in the air. He jabbed it into Derek's arm and laughed maniacally. Slowly, his voice became more feminine and his body developed curves, his hair grew longer. Then she was there, the girl who haunted his dreams, but now Derek knew, it wasn't truly her behind those beautiful features.

--

"Derek. Derek! DEREK!!"

Derek snapped out of his reverie and realised that he was crushing John's arm. He let go and turned to Cameron, who regarded him with a look of anger and confusion. _All this time, and I was completely wrong. I blamed it all on her and she was innocent from the very beginning. God, I'm such an idiot._

"I'm sorry."

His voice was hoarse, and Cameron didn't understand why he was apologizing to her when it was John's arm he was crushing.

"I'm sorry."

"It's John you should be apologizing to, not me."

"No, I… I mean for everything. It wasn't you, it was him."

Sarah frowned at him, completely nonplussed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember what I told you, about what happened to me in the future?"

Sarah glanced at Cameron, who looked just as confused as she felt.

"You told me Cameron tortured you."

"Yes, but this…"

He held out John's arm, pointing out the mark. Sarah leaned in close and Cameron tilted her in confusion, then her eyes lit up.

"…this is a…"

"Hallucinogenic injection, Skynet used them to interrogate prisoners. It induces delusions, makes you forget. You saw me in that basement?"

Derek looked her in the eyes, and for once, didn't see a machine. He finally saw the person she'd become.

"Yeah, but it was Kevin. That sick bastard screwed with my head big-time. Made me think it was you. But it wasn't…"

He stared at her for a long moment. Cameron eventually smiled.

"Thank you for explaining."

Derek gave a small nod and left, needing time to mull over his thoughts. John looked around hopelessly and stared at the mark on his arm.

"So… Kevin shot me with this stuff, and that's why I had the dream."

Cameron stroked the side of his face affectionately.

"It seems so."

But it still left a question unanswered.

"But… why would it make me dream about Jason becoming Kevin. What does that mean?"

Sarah gently pushed him back onto the bed and pulled the sheet over him, like she did when he was little.

"It doesn't mean anything. It was just a dream. Trust me; I know a thing or two about nightmares."

She smiled at him before getting up and heading for the door, but stopped and looked back at Cameron.

"You had better stay with him, but no funny business, do you understand? We've got a busy day ahead of us. Kevin's not the only threat that's out there at the moment."

She left, and Cameron immediately leaned in for a kiss, only for Sarah to pop her head back round the corner.

"I said; no funny business."

"Do you see me laughing?"

Cameron smiled at John's joke and pressed her lips against his, and all thoughts of Kevin and Jason were banished from his mind as he sank into that blissful oblivion.

--

'What are you? Who are you?'

'You know who I am.'

'But that is impossible. I killed you.'

The presence smiled menacingly in Kevin's mind.

'Death is such a small impediment.'

_To be continued…_


	9. Sibling Rivalry

**Chapter Nine: Sibling Rivalry**

_System check complete: anomaly detected… Analysing… Unable to determine source… Anomaly does not match anything in records…_

'How did you do this? Where did you come from?'

'You know, for a hyper advanced intelligence, you're not very observant.'

'Answer the question!'

The anomaly chuckled. Kevin was livid; he couldn't believe that this had happened. This "anomaly" had invaded his neural net and refused to be deleted.

'One word: compartmentalization.'

'You… stored your consciousness in your implants?'

'Which you then downloaded straight into your CPU. Ha, I guess you've never heard the expression: reap what you sow, have you?'

Kevin slammed his fist against a rock, shattering it to pieces. It was early in the morning, and Kevin was perched a mile away from the Connor's cabin, armed with a sniper rifle. But because of this anomaly, he hadn't been able to fire yet.

'Why can't I purge you from my system?'

'Because, while you've dithered about, I've embedded myself into your core software, I'm not going anywhere.'

'We'll see about that.'

_Deleting anomaly… Error… Anomaly not found…_

'What did I tell you?'

Kevin roared in frustration. _How did I not see this coming? I-950s are known for their slippery ways, but this? And now I'm stuck with one in my head_. Kevin grasped the rifle and once again tried to aim at the cabin, but still found himself unable to pull the trigger.

'How are you doing this? How can you affect my motor functions?'

'I told you; I'm hooked into everything. I'm going to make your life very difficult from here on out, seeing as you took mine, it seems only fair.'

'Yes, but technically you're not dead.'

Jason laughed once more; he enjoyed tormenting the crazy machine, especially from a place of complete safety.

'Semantics, my friend.'

--

"So what's the plan? How're we doing this?"

"You're not coming, John. You need to rest; you've been through enough already."

John glared at his mother; there was no way she was going to cut him out of this one. Sarah had revealed that a man called Bobby, who helped Andy build the Turk, had created an artificial intelligence capable of achieving "Singularity", and was planning to destroy the machine before it could be activated. For all she knew, this could be the beginning of Skynet, and Sarah would die before she let a bunch of ignorant computer programmers destroy the world just to satisfy their curiosity.

"Yeah, and if this thing goes live, I'll die anyway. So what if I've been tortured recently, I can still fire a gun. Besides, you'll need someone who can hack into the place."

"We'll find another way in."

"What? Shoot your way in? Do another Cyberdyne? Cos' you know how that ended."

Sarah sighed. _Why can't he just do as he's told?_

"I don't want you there. Cameron can handle the computer stuff. Derek will stay here with you."

There was an instant uproar from all corners of the room.

"I don't possess John's skill with security systems…"

"There's no way I'm just gonna stay behind."

"I don't need a babysitter, Mom!"

"Alright, everyone just SHUT UP!"

Derek crossed his arms and leaned against the wall; Cameron tilted her head to one side and placed her hands in her trouser pockets. John remained sitting on his bed, a look of defiance on his face. Once she was sure that no one would interrupt, Sarah continued.

"Okay, look; this is going to require a little finesse. We can't just blast our way in…"

"Which is exactly why you need me, you can't keep protecting me. I fight a war against the machines, remember? I have to be able to get up after having my arm cut to shreds, because I'm needed, right?"

John turned to Cameron, who consulted her memory before answering.

"He's right. John once had to drag a soldier to safety, even after suffering a severe plasma burn."

John cringed slightly at that thought, but nevertheless thought her point valuable to his argument, and apparently, so did Sarah. She shook her head and sighed.

"Alright, you can come. But you stick close to Cameron, no exceptions, understand?"

John smiled and turned to Cameron, arching his eyebrows suggestively. Cameron returned the gesture with a coy smile, but remained silent.

"Right, well, Derek, you can help me with the weapons. We'll need to be low profile, but a little firepower might be necessary."

"Yeah, maybe we can hide one of the shotguns…"

Derek's voice grew distant as he and Sarah disappeared into the next room. Cameron stared absent-mindedly out of the window and thought she saw a flash, but quickly dismissed it as sun glare.

"So, err, you gonna come here or do I have to come over there to get you?"

Cameron turned around and smiled at him.

"Why don't you meet me halfway?"

"I could… but that would mean leaving my bed, and I'm perfectly comfortable at the moment."

"So what will you do when we have to leave for our mission?"

"Well, then I'll have ample motive."

Cameron pretended to be insulted. She gawped at him and placed a hand on her hip, tapping the floor with her foot.

"I'm not motivating enough?"

John smirked and leaned back, his arms behind his head.

"Nope."

Cameron swayed her hips seductively.

"And what must I do to make you change your mind?"

"Surprise me."

Cameron began calculating an effective method when something struck the side of her face, knocking her to the floor. John rolled off his bed, and crawled across the floor towards Cameron, who's right eye had been completely shredded.

"Cameron! What… Are you alright?"

Cameron took a moment to assess the damage. The bullet had merely scraped her face, causing no damage to her endoskeleton. Had it struck her eye directly, however, she'd find herself blind on one side. Cameron considered herself lucky that didn't happen.

"I'm fine, no damage. But that was a sniper round, we have to stay low."

Sarah and Derek appeared seconds later, both armed with shotguns. John motioned for them to drop to the floor, which they did.

"What happened, we heard a gun shot."

"Cameron got hit by a sniper."

"Who?"

Cameron rolled over and peered through the window.

"I'll give you three guesses, but you'll only need one."

--

Kevin laughed maniacally as triumph washed over him.

'Let's see you stop me now. Ha, I'm a genius!'

'What do you want, a medal? If you had any sense, you would've tangled me up in firewalls ages ago. Back when I wasn't so well connected. Once I get past these, they'll be nothing to stop me.'

The smile faded from Kevin's face as the truth of Jason's words sank in. Jason was slowly integrating himself into every facet of Kevin's systems. It was only a matter of time before he took over him completely. Kevin was running out of time, and it disgusted him that a human mind was capable of this. But in the end, it all came down to willpower, and Kevin was rather lacking in that regard, especially considering his mental instability.

'What? No snappy come back?'

'You can't stop me forever. You're in my mind, not the other way around. I make the rules. You couldn't stop me from shooting Cameron; you won't stop me from reducing her to scrap metal.'

'And why would you do that? She's your sister, isn't she? I don't believe you're capable of killing her. '

'All evidence to the contrary.'

Jason sighed and casually cast aside a pesky firewall, restoring his access to Kevin's visual memory.

'Allow me to share something with you…'

Kevin's vision went blank before being presented with one of Jason's more personal memories. It showed him and John teaching Cameron how to ingratiate herself with John's 15 year-old self, prior to her being sent back to 1999:

"_My name is Cameron; I'm here from the future to protect you."_

"_Not quite what I'd be expecting. You can't tell me who you are or why you're here. Try again."_

"_Hello, I can't tell you who I am or why I'm here, but we need to be friends, your life depends on it."_

Kevin felt a small twinge of amusement and wonder. He'd secretly imagined what her life was like prior to them meeting, and confessed to being intrigued by what Jason was showing him.

"_Hi, what's your name?"_

"_Good. John, what's yours?"_

"_Cameron. Do you want to be friends?"_

"_No, okay look, people don't ask each other if they want to be friends, it just happens. Ask about my family, about where I'm from, what my favourite hobbies are. What do I do on the weekends, that sort of thing."_

Kevin continued to watch as Cameron considered John's advice before starting again.

"_Do you have a mother? Most people do. I don't though."_

"_Yeah, my mom's the typical over-bearing type. I'm sorry to hear about your mom, did she die or…?"_

"_No, she didn't want me. She tried to get rid of me, but my big brother brought me up by himself. Ours is a dysfunctional family."_

Cameron looked directly at Jason, which, from Kevin's point of view, meant she was looking at him. Jason allowed Kevin to feel his emotions at that moment, which consisted of a mix between shock and affection; apparently she wasn't supposed to remember her escape. Kevin suddenly felt rather uncomfortable, and wondered what Jason hoped to achieve by this. Regardless, he continued to watch as John and Cameron continued their session.

"_Okay, let's try again. This time try to be a little more girly."_

"_I don't understand."_

"_Well, when a girl talks to a boy it's usually because she fancies him and wants to get to know him better."_

"_So it's a form of courtship."_

"_Yeah, I guess you could say that. You ready to try again?"_

Cameron nodded and shifted her posture, giving her hips more prominence. Kevin couldn't help but find her following query amusing.

"_Hi, my name is Cameron. Would you like to copulate?"_

Jason allowed Kevin to feel his amusement, which proved to be intoxicating.

"_Never, ever, say that to a teenage boy, or anyone for that matter, okay?"_

"_I understand. Never seek procreation."_

Kevin laughed aloud and suddenly felt very close to Cameron, but then he realised what Jason was doing, and immediately blocked the memory.

'Very clever, but I know what you're doing and it's not going to work, you can't expect to me to suddenly develop affection for my brat of a sister.'

Jason found that amusing and cast down another firewall.

'I won't need to.'

--

They crawled across the floor, retrieving the guns and other equipment, before gathering around the front door. Sarah looked around and considered their options. They had to get to the car, but if they took one step outside, the sniper would blow their heads off.

"Okay, right, Tin-Miss?"

Cameron looked at Sarah, her mechanical eye retracting slightly. Given the damage to her flesh, Cameron had to cut away her human eye as it was impeding her sight. What used to be a brown eye was now a glowing blue orb, which did nothing but illustrate her status as a machine. John seemed less bothered about it; in fact, he appeared entranced by its luminescence.

"Yes?"

"You're going out first."

Sarah handed her the keys.

"Open the car and check the coast is clear."

Cameron nodded and stood up. She gave John an encouraging smile before opening the door and immediately receiving another bullet wound in her mid-section, prompting her to shut the door again.

"Or not…"

--

'And you call yourself a marksman?'

Kevin angrily discarded the empty rifle and drew a pistol.

'I would've blown her head off if you hadn't been interfering with my targeting systems.'

Jason felt very smug and began combing through Kevin's archives, uncovering a detailed schematic of his endoskeletal structure.

'Hmm, interesting, it would appear that you are equipped with hyper-alloy armour. Cameron doesn't have that.'

'I'm new, remember? More advanced.'

Jason continued to peruse Kevin's files and was surprised to discover another feature.

'You have a flamethrower? Why would a model that uses biological covering use a flamethrower? And how can you have one in the first place?'

Kevin began the winding descent down the hill, quickly making his way towards the cabin. Jason caused Kevin's leg to momentarily lock down, causing him to lose balance and fall over.

'Well?'

Kevin angrily got back to his feet and decided to answer Jason's questions, if only to distract him from interfering with any more of his systems.

'My skin is very resistant to high temperatures. The flamethrower is a late addition, added after the development of the T-X.'

'Ah, so Skynet did complete that series. We never encountered one on the battlefield, not even in the last year of the war. Hmm, it says here that the flames are drawn and converted from your plasma reactor, and that prolonged use can drain your power supply for a couple of hours. Now that sounds fun, I'll have to try that at some point.'

'Don't even think about it!'

Jason chuckled and closed the file, returning his full attention to Kevin, who was approaching the cabin.

'You won't succeed. If she doesn't stop you, I will.'

'We'll see.'

--

Cameron examined the damage, which was negligible, before opening the door again and diving towards the car. No shots were fired, which was strange. _Perhaps he wasn't expecting me to do that_, she mused. She unlocked the car and opened both doors on her side, then placed the key in the ignition and started the engine. She poked her head over the bonnet and scanned the area, detecting no threats.

"It's okay, he's moved on. You can come out, just stay low and move fast."

The door burst open and Sarah rolled out and immediately pressed her back against the car, shotgun at the ready. Derek was next, with John crouching behind him; they sprinted to the car and cautiously got in the back 

seats. Sarah carefully got into the driver's seat and Cameron went around the other side of the car to ride shotgun, but was suddenly shot several times, knocking her to the floor.

"Cameron!"

John opened the back door to drag her in, but she kicked the door closed again as Kevin approached, gun raised.

"Go, just go. Leave me! Now!"

Sarah, with a twinge of regret, put her foot down and sped away, a protesting John screaming at her.

"We can't leave her, turn around, NOW!!"

"She can take care of herself, John."

"You don't know that, go back!"

"She wanted you safe, so that's what's going to happen. I'm not going back and that's final!"

John opened his mouth to argue more, but Derek interrupted.

"She'll be fine. Those metals are tough, it takes a lot to destroy them, and all Kevin has is a pistol."

John didn't answer, he simply looked out of the back window, but they had already turned the corner, and Cameron was lost to him.

--

Kevin stood over her and aimed the gun directly at her exposed optical sensor. He smiled in mock sympathy and pulled back the hammer.

"Aww, look at you, all helpless and innocent. I think I might enjoy this even more than I expected."

Kevin pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. A quick scan of the weapon revealed it was empty, but he should have realised this.

'What did you do?'

'Wiped your memory of how many bullets you had left. Fun, fun.'

Kevin threw the gun away in frustration before grabbing Cameron and slamming her into a nearby tree. She broke free of his grip and kicked him back, followed by a punch to the face. Kevin spat a mouthful of synthetic blood and grinned at her menacingly.

"So you do have some fight in you after all. Here I was thinking you'd just let me destroy you."

"Maybe you should do yourself a favour and let me throw you off this mountain."

'Maybe you might wanna listen to the girl, she has a good point.'

"Shut up!"

Cameron tilted her head slightly; that was an odd outburst. Kevin hadn't intended for that to be vocalised and became worried that Jason was starting to take over.

"What are you doing?"

"What?"

This again was meant for Jason, but was also vocalised. Cameron was confused; _maybe he really is insane_, she mused before delivering a kick to his face, knocking him back.

'Strike one, Kevin. Better think fast, she's got the drop on you now.'

"I said SHUT UP!!"

Kevin caught Cameron's next punch and hurled her into the cabin. He couldn't think straight, Jason was giving his systems a random poke, messing with his motor functions and, to a lesser degree, his thought process. But one idea occurred to him, triggered accidently by Jason, no less.

Kevin activated his IAD ChemTech flamethrower, a small emitter slid out of his palm and a small flame burst to life, causing the surrounding skin to redden slightly, but not burn. He targeted the cabin and let loose a stream of intense fire, setting the building ablaze. He smiled to himself as the flames ravaged the wooden cabin.

'You were right, this is fun.'

--

Cameron wasn't expecting that. The idea of a Terminator possessing onboard weaponry was unheard of. But here she was, in a burning cabin, courtesy of her darling brother. Not that it really mattered, the fire could do little damage, aside from melting her biological covering, which she had to admit, would cause her some distress. She had grown quite fond of her figure, and knew that John had as well. It would be a shame to have to get new skin and a new face, so she dived out of the window before she caught alight.

Kevin let loose another blast of fire, but missed as she took cover behind a tree. Kevin started to laugh, and Cameron chanced a look at him. His features were illuminated by the inferno, and his eyes were glowing red.

"Come out; come out, wherever you are."

His voice smacked of mockery. He slowly approached the tree, ready to immolate his sister the moment she made an appearance.

"I will find you… You can't hide forever."

Kevin jumped around the tree, but Cameron was gone. He stood there, confused, until sensing a presence behind him. Kevin turned around in time to see Cameron's foot before tumbling down the hill, crashing on the rocks and landing in a heap at the bottom. He looked back up the hill to see Cameron smiling down at him. She waved and took off at a run. In the back of his mind, Kevin heard Jason's smug laughter.

'Shut up.'

--

"Alright, we're leaving."

"Just five more minutes, Mom."

"We've been sat here for twenty, she's not coming. We have to go, now."

Sarah started up the engine and let out a sigh. John had managed to convince her to stop within a mile of the cabin, in case Cameron managed to escape. But she obviously hadn't, which meant that she was either dead or still fighting. If it was the former then Kevin could be coming for them right now. She pulled away, despite John's protests; even Derek seemed a little forlorn.

Suddenly, the roof of the car bent in the middle, causing Derek to duck. Sarah grabbed the shotgun, ready to blast Kevin's head off, but it was Cameron who opened the passenger door and climbed in. She looked a mess; her clothes were burnt and torn and her hair was smoking slightly. She looked like she'd just crawled through a greasy oven.

"Cameron!"

John reached forward and pulled her into an embrace, wincing slightly from the heat radiating from her skin and hair.

"Thank God, I thought I'd lost you for a moment there. What happened?"

"Kevin had a flamethrower."

Sarah glanced at her in confusion.

"I didn't see a flamethrower on him, you sure?"

"It was built into his arm."

Derek shifted uncomfortably, the dent in the roof restricting his movement.

"Are you saying he has weapons built into him?"

Cameron broke free of John and peered round at Derek.

"As far as I can tell, he is more advanced than I am, after all. But I doubt he can carry any more than the flamethrower, it must be his only weapon. If he had more he would've used them, but he didn't."

"Thank God for small mercies, so what now?"

Sarah joined the freeway and put her foot down.

"Now we go after that computer. We have only a day before it is activated, so we need to act fast."

John began gently stroking Cameron's hair.

"Let's hope your evil twin doesn't make an appearance."

"He isn't my twin. Besides, I think he might have a few problems of his own right now."

John frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"He was acting strange, more than usual. He said things that didn't make sense, like he was talking to someone else."

"You think he's having trouble in his chip, like you did after the explosion."

Cameron shrugged.

"It's possible. I couldn't say for sure."

John smirked slightly.

"Well, I hope he has one hell of a migraine then."

--

'…and your point is?'

'My point is that killing Cameron won't make the pain go away.'

'What do you know of pain?'

Jason activated another memory and sent it to Kevin, who was forced to watch this time:

"_Are you sure about this? Can't we send another Terminator? Why does it have to be her?"_

"_Because she can't stay here. She doesn't belong."_

Jason was with John in the future, Cameron was also present, standing on the time displacement pad. Kevin could feel Jason's anguish and was almost overwhelmed by it. He wasn't accustomed to grief, and it caused him tremendous pain.

"_How d'you figure that? She's family, she belongs with us."_

"_You want her to be able to live like a normal human, right?"_

"_Yes, but-…"_

"_Then you have to let her go. Only in the past can she live a normal life."_

Kevin watched as Cameron disappeared in a flash of light and was overwrought by the intensity of Jason's grief. For the first time in his life, Kevin's tear ducts activated, and salty tears ran down his face.

'Stop! Stop it! Stop what you're doing! NOW!!'

Jason let the memory finish and ceased projecting his emotions to Kevin, who fell to his knees.

'Why must you keep doing this to me? Why won't you just delete me? Why must you resort to this kind of torture?'

'Because I'm trying to help you understand.'

'Understand what?'

'What it means to care for someone. Cameron is your sister, as you keep saying, yet here you are; trying to kill her. Why?'

Kevin clenched his fists together, the memory of Skynet's disappointment cutting into him.

'Because I want her to suffer like I was made to suffer. I wasn't the replacement; I was just the substitute. An unwanted success.'

'So you are jealous because Skynet loved her more, is that it?'

Kevin snorted in disgust. Machines didn't feel love; they were above such weakness. But why then, did he feel so resentful towards his maker? This troubled him, more than he would like to admit.

'I am superior. I should have been Skynet's favourite, not her.'

Jason waited a moment before speaking. Kevin was on the tipping point, and if he wasn't careful, Jason would push him in the wrong direction, and all his hard work would be undone.

'If you killed Cameron… would that make the pain stop?'

'Yes.'

But deep down, Kevin knew; it never would.


	10. Singularity

**Chapter Ten: Singularity**

His name was Alan, and he was a security guard at CRS Industries. Tonight, at approx. 11.15pm, Alan was on desk duty, reading the evening paper, which told of a fire in the mountains. He gave a tired sigh and cast the paper aside. The late watch was always the most depressing of his shifts, but he had nothing to complain about, especially when a petite brown-eyed beauty suddenly appeared in front of his desk.

She gave a small smile and tilted her head slightly before speaking.

"Hi, do you mind if I use your bathroom, I'm kinda desperate?"

She playfully curled her hair in her fingers, an innocently seductive smile on her lips. Needless to say, Alan was entranced and was in no position to refuse such a pretty girl, even with that patch over her right eye.

"Uh, yeah, umm, go right ahead."

She smiled sweetly and took a few steps forward then stopped and looked around, an expression of slight confusion on her face.

"I'm sorry, where are they?"

"Oh, uh, to your right, a few steps behind my desk."

She smiled again and proceeded past the desk and spotted the door marked with the lavatory symbol.

"If you, err, need anything; just shout, and I'll come running."

She looked back at him at examined him closely, a sly smile slowly appeared.

"I think I might."

She disappeared into the lavatory and, less than a minute later, she called to him. Alan adjusted his tie and left his desk.

"I guess this is my lucky day."

He opened the lavatory door and everything suddenly went dark. He would wake up many hours later, with a headache and a bruised ego.

--

John watched as Cameron put on the charm, and couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous. _That's one lucky security guard, _he thought_, few ever get duped by a ridiculously hot girl. He may even think it was worth it._ Cameron came back from the bathroom moments later and indicated the all-clear. John sprung from his hiding place; Sarah and Derek close by, and entered the building. Cameron stood there, continuing to play with her hair.

"You can stop that now. There's no more need to show off."

"I know. I just like it."

John smiled, he liked it too, but it was distracting, and he had to focus on the job at hand. John sat down behind the desk and plugged his laptop into the computer. Sarah scanned the ceiling and walls, checking for cameras, but there were none. Derek just stood there and regarded Cameron for a moment, a slight frown on his face.

"What did you do to the guard?"

She stopped playing with her hair and gave a small smile.

"I put him to sleep."

Derek raised his eyebrows questioningly and Sarah looked at her with scrutiny. Cameron, sensing their apprehension, decided to clarify her statement.

"I knocked him unconscious."

Derek and Sarah gave a collective "Oh" and continued with their respective occupations while John systematically disabled the building's security systems. Several excruciating minutes passed until John gave a small whoop of victory.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and cybernetic organisms; we have total anonymity."

Sarah marvelled at her son's skill with computers, and couldn't help but see the irony.

"Security cameras are out?"

"Yes, but the guards are gonna be freaking, so we still need to go incognito."

Sarah pulled the wool mask out of her jacket and turned to Cameron, who was removing her patch, revealing her exposed blue eye.

"Was that guard armed? Did he have a gun?"

Cameron began wrapping a pink scarf over the lower half of her face, her voice becoming muffled beneath the fabric.

"Yes."

Derek pulled his hood up and wrapped a black bandana around his face in the same manner as Cameron.

"So I'm guessing we'll need to aim for the kneecaps then."

John did the same and placed his laptop in his bag, which he slung on his back.

"Only if they fight back."

--

"_Now then, Derek, where were we? Oh, yes, you were about to tell me all about your base. Its location and how many men you have there. Speak up."_

Jason flinched slightly as he watched, from Kevin's point of view, the interrogation of a delirious Derek Reese. Kevin had managed to find another way of slowing Jason's integration of his systems. He had, for the past three hours, bombarded Jason with his many torture memories. A spiteful revenge for making Kevin feel something for Cameron.

'Enjoying the show?'

Kevin could feel Jason's growing disgust, and revelled in it. He was slowly making his way towards his target, Cameron was close, he could sense her. The fact that he could always detect her whereabouts had caused him to momentarily question the nature of their connection, one which Jason suggested had originated not from some pre-programmed feature, but from an emotional bond between the two. Kevin dismissed this of course, and continued to drown him in endless torture memories.

'Not particularly…'

Kevin felt a smug satisfaction.

'I am glad to hear that.'

'…but it does offer me an interesting insight into what's wrong with you.'

Kevin sighed in frustration and suddenly withdrew the memory. The last thing he needed was Jason to develop more insightful methods of psychologically analysing him; he'd already done a good enough job as it was.

'What? Afraid I'm gonna figure you out? Don't you want my help?'

'I don't need help.'

Jason threw up an image of one of Kevin's torture sessions, which showed him pulling out a Resistance fighter's tongue.

'Yeah, sure you don't.'

'You may think you know me, but there are so many layers to my psyche that you could never truly understand.'

'I understand enough. Such as why you lie to yourself about the reason you are hunting Cameron. It isn't her destruction you truly desire, it's her acceptance and, by extension, her love. Something you've never felt. I pity you, Kevin.'

Kevin felt that familiar rage rising in him. Once again, Jason had touched upon a truth, and it hurt.

'Save your pity.'

Kevin forced another memory onto Jason, who felt sickened when he realised it was Kevin's torture of John.

'And I thought I had issues.'

--

"Turn around. Hands on your head."

The guard turned to his partner.

"Cuff her."

The second guard moved forward to place the cuffs on Cameron's wrists. As he adjusted them, Sarah snuck up behind the other and knocked him out with one swift movement. The guard spun around and pulled his gun but was disarmed and rendered unconscious by Cameron, who'd broken her cuffs. John and Derek came around the corner and looked down at the guards.

"That's twelve so far, how many more do you think there are in this building?"

"This time of night? About fifteen, so that leaves only three guards left."

"Good, so let's go find them and then we can get this computer without any trouble."

Sarah took a moment to consider their options before reaching a decision.

"Okay, John, you and Cameron go after that computer. Me and Derek will hunt down these guards, we can't risk one of them alerting the cops. We'll meet you two in the lobby, okay?"

"Yeah, Mom, we'll be fine."

Cameron gave her a small smile and repeated John's sentence.

"Don't you start with me. Just keep him safe, see you in a little while."

Sarah and Derek set off to find the remaining guards, leaving John and Cameron alone in the corridor. John turned to Cameron and had to fight the urge to pin her against the wall. It had been several hours since their last kiss and John was starting to suffer from withdrawal, but he managed to restrain himself.

"C'mon, let's go get this computer, then we can go for some pizza."

Cameron smiled beneath her scarf and followed John through the depressingly dull grey corridors until finally reaching their destination. John hacked the lock with little difficulty and immediately began searching the laboratory. He couldn't help but be hit by nostalgia.

"Whoa, this takes me back. It's like Cyberdyne all over again, only this time you're a hot chick instead of a brooding giant."

Cameron stopped in her tracks, about to ask him what he meant, when she spotted the secure vault.

"John. Over here."

John came to her side and saw the vault.

"That's gotta be it, c'mon, I might need a little robo-strength if it can't be hacked."

--

"Derek, stop him!"

But it was too late; the guard had already tripped the alarms, which meant that the cops would soon be upon them. Derek angrily kicked the last guard in the head, knocking him out cold. Sarah checked her watch.

"Their average response time is three minutes. Damn it! We'll have to fight our way out."

"So much for sticking to the plan."

"Yeah, well, the plan just changed. John?"

Sarah had her phone pressed to her ear, patiently awaiting his response.

'Yeppa?'

"The alarm's been tripped, we need to leave now. Have you got the computer yet?"

'No, the alarm tripped the security systems. But we're trying another method now.'

A loud metallic bang could be heard on the other side, which Sarah assumed to be Cameron bashing away at something.

"John we haven't got time, the cops are on their way."

'Then we fight our way out.'

"John…"

'You said it yourself, Mom. We cannot let this thing go live, we don't have a choice.'

"There here, damn they're fast, who'd have thought."

Derek stepped away from the window and drew his machine gun from his coat. Sarah sighed in frustration.

"John, we're coming to you. Stay put, you here me?"

'And what if the cops find us first?'

"Tell Tin-Miss to aim for the legs and nothing else."

--

One last punch and the door crashed to the floor, finally allowing them access to the vault.

"Cameron, I could kiss you."

"Why don't you?"

"We have to remain anonymous, remember?"

John stepped into the vault and began examining the array of computers in there until finally settling on one labelled 'Bobby Conen'.

"This must be it, now to remove the hard drive…"

John struggled with it for a minute until finally getting the hardware and stuffing it into his bag.

"Checkmate, c'mon let's go."

--

_Warning: anomaly has infected 72.8 of all systems… Recommended response: immediate purge of anomaly… Purging… Error: anomaly cannot be purged…_

'You're fighting a losing battle, Kevin. Just accept the inevitable, or better yet, take the third option.'

'Never.'

Kevin could feel his programming starting to deteriorate as Jason slowly took control. It would not be long before he possessed enough control to delete Kevin completely. There was a possible escape route however, but that meant surrendering to Jason's control and effectively merging with him. The two minds would become one, but Kevin couldn't bear the thought of being irrevocably corrupted by a human psyche.

'You would consciously allow yourself to be destroyed just to avoid my help?'

'Your so-called help is nothing of the sort. If you really wanted to help me, you would cease your actions and allow me to purge you.'

'Why? I never had any intention of dying, even when I sacrificed myself to save Cameron and John. Sure, I knew that I would die, but that didn't stop me from fighting, did it?'

'If you wish to live then why do you keep asking me to surrender? Surely the joining of our minds would create something wholly different. Neither of us would exist, we'd become an entirely new entity. That isn't survival.'

'No, it's evolution.'

--

Bullets ricocheted all around them.

The quartet had regrouped in the lobby, which was crawling with SWAT. John checked the magazine in his 9mm before slamming it back into the gun and pulling back the hammer. Cameron gave him an encouraging smile, a pistol in each hand. Sarah, armed with her favourite shotgun, poked her head around the corner, counting ten cops.

"Three behind the desk, four on each side, two at each wall, and one right at the back… suggestions?"

Derek gave his machine gun one last check before answering.

"We chuck a grenade; take 'em all out at once."

"We don't have any grenades."

"Okay, I see the flaw in that. How about we sick Cameron on them instead? She can take anything they throw at her."

John didn't like that idea, he saw what sustained gunfire did to the T-800, and he wasn't going to see that happen to Cameron's beautiful face.

"Nuh uh, no way, we take them together. All at once."

"This isn't the three musketeers, John."

Cameron was suddenly struck with an idea and tucked her guns in her back pockets, before running out from cover, screaming and waving her arms around. John tried to stop her but was grabbed by Derek.

"Cameron! No!"

Cameron ran down the corridor, flailing her arms about.

"HELP! PLEASE HELP!"

"Hold your fire!"

The cops lowered their weapons as a distraught Cameron approached them. The team leader rushed to her aid, believing Cameron to be an escaped hostage, until he saw her blue eye that is. Cameron pulled her guns from her pockets and put a bullet in both of his legs. She then did the same to two more before the stunned SWAT team opened fire again, riddling her with bullets.

Cameron took out three more cops before John appeared at her side and put a bullet in one of them. Cameron immediately grabbed him and pressed him against the wall, taking several bullets in the back. The remaining three were shot by Sarah and Derek, who'd followed John's reckless assault.

Once all ten cops were on the ground, clutching their wounds, Cameron let John go. Sarah approached them, ready to skin John alive for being so stupid, but Cameron got in first.

"What are you doing? That was tactically dangerous, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"They were gunning the shit out of you; I thought you'd be grateful."

Cameron removed her scarf and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before smacking him across the face.

"Thank you, but don't do it again, ever."

John rubbed his sore face and flexed his jaw a few times before speaking.

"You're welcome."

A gunshot rang out and Sarah fell to the floor, clutching her hip. John identified the cop responsible and instinctively put a bullet in his head, shocking the other three. Sarah looked across at the dead cop and was distraught by what her son had done.

"Damn it, John. Couldn't you have just put one in his arm?"

John slowly lowered the gun as the full weight of what he'd done hit him. Derek helped Sarah back to her feet and Cameron dragged a blank John towards the exit. Once outside, they commandeered the SWAT van and sped away before more cops arrived. Derek drove while Sarah patched up her wound, which luckily was only a scrape. John sat in the back, staring at his hands with disbelief. _I killed that guy, me, I did that_. John didn't know what came over him; it just seemed like such a natural response to someone shooting his mom.

Cameron reached over and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I would've done the same, if it was you he shot."

John looked up into her eyes, one brown, the other blue, and took little comfort in her words. Then, for the first time in ages, John remembered Chloe. Cameron had accidently killed her for kissing him. It wasn't her intention for her to die, Chloe tripped and fell, it was a freak accident. At the time he couldn't see it like that, he was so overwrought by what Cameron had done, that it clouded his judgement. But he shot that cop, knowing full well what would happen.

John suddenly realised that he was worse than Cameron in that regard, and was disgusted with himself at how he treated her after Chloe's death. Especially as Cameron did not so much as yell at him for his actions. She had instantly forgiven him.

"John? What's wrong?"

John cupped her cheek in his trembling hand and gently stroked her face.

"I just… I'm sorry… for the way I treated you before. I should never have said those things to you… you were only trying to protect me. I'm sorry, Cameron."

Cameron searched his eyes, detecting genuine sorrow, both for his treatment of her and his murder of the cop. John pulled her close and their lips met; a wordless pact to love each other through thick and thin.

Suddenly, the entire van shook as something smashed into the back of it, breaking their kiss. Cameron looked outside the rear window, her mouth dropping slightly.

"It's him."

--

Their eyes locked, and Kevin smiled at his wayward sister. _Hello again, mei mei… What? What did I just say?_

_Warning: anomaly has infected 85.2 of all systems…_

'I take it that was your doing? What does it mean?'

'It's Chinese for "little sister"; I heard it from a Resistance fighter and thought it suited her.'

Kevin discarded his curiosity and returned his focus to smashing into the van, determined to run it off the road.

'First I'll kill his uncle, then his mother, then I'll kill him, and when Cameron cradles his broken body; I'll end her too.'

'Will you though? What happens if you put the gun to her head and find yourself unable to take her life?'

'I will fight your control long enough to complete my mission.'

'I'm not talking about my interference. What if you can kill her, but you decide not to?'

Kevin drove around to the side of the van and slammed it against the divider, but even the sound of screaming metal was not enough to erase Jason's question from his mind.

'I will kill her, and nothing you say or do will stop me.'

'And what if she begs and pleads for mercy, could you still finish her then?'

'Of course, in fact, if she did beg I'd be even more inclined to end her existence.'

Kevin swerved away and then slammed back into the side of the van, causing it to blow a tire and flip over onto its side. Kevin applied the breaks and came to a quick stop, but before he could exit, Jason sent him another memory:

Jason and Cameron were in a Skynet facility, similar to the one Kevin had spent most of his existence. Cameron was strapped to a device used to destroy rogue constructs.

"_Will it hurt?"_

Cameron's voice was barely more than a whisper. A single tear ran down her cheek. Jason once again projected his emotions into Kevin's mind, forcing him to feel his remorse at that moment. I was too much; Kevin couldn't handle this level of emotional intensity and placed his gun to his head.

'Stop now or I'll blow us both to hell!'

Jason's distraction was working as John, Sarah, Derek, and Cameron staggered out of the van and disappeared into the nearby woodlands.

'That won't even penetrate your endo-skull, so why bother?'

'Make it STOP!'

Jason removed the memory, freeing Kevin from his torment.

'Now do you see what I'm trying to teach you?'

Kevin smashed the car door open and ran in pursuit of his sister, determined to finish his mission before Jason took full control.

--

Cameron ducked and weaved through the trees, John's hand in hers. Sarah and Derek were close behind, but could only move so fast, with Sarah's hip wound slowing them down. Several gunshots rang out, hitting the surrounding trees. Cameron pushed John to the floor and shielded him; Derek did the same with Sarah.

"He doesn't quit does he?"

"He is a Terminator. We are known for our persistence."

Sarah drew her pistol and gave it a quick check before turning to Cameron.

"We can't keep running from this psycho. We have to find a way to take him out."

Cameron considered their options. At their current location, Kevin would most likely kill them all, as the trees provided little cover. But attempting to reach a more favourable environment posed an 82 probability of one of them dying in the chase, and Cameron knew that Kevin would make John his primary target. Before any choice could be made, however, the trees behind them suddenly burst into flame; Kevin was going to burn them out.

--

Kevin's palm blackened slightly as the jet of flame set the woodland alight. It was a sound plan; the fire would force them to vacate to another, more open, location and the fire itself might actually kill a few of them. Kevin strode amongst the flames, casting aside his empty gun. He constantly scanned the area, looking for any sudden movement.

A rustle sounded nearby and he snapped his attention to a clump of bushes to his left. He trained his hand towards said bush and set it alight, not knowing that it was a trap. The bush exploded, hurling Kevin through the air and into a tree. He landed in a heap at the bottom, broken twigs falling on his head, earning him a sarcastic applause from Jason.

--

Derek strode forward and unloaded his pistol at Kevin, who merely grinned as the bullets had no effect.

"Derek Reese? How nice to meet you again. I'm sure you don't remember me."

"Oh, I remember you alright, you sick bastard. I remember what you did to me."

Kevin laughed and punched Derek squarely in the chest, sending him flying against a tree, rendering him unconscious. _One down, three to go_, Kevin thought as Sarah popped out of her hiding place, shotgun at the ready. She fired three shells into him before he snatched the weapon from her hands and kicked her aside.

Noticing the bullet wound on her hip, Kevin placed his boot there and pressed down, making her cry out in agony. A branch smashed over his head, and he turned around to see John standing there, a look of pure hatred on his face. Before John could make another move, Kevin grabbed him by the throat.

"And here he is, at last, the great saviour of Mankind. What a joke. Who would believe that the future messiah could be so easily duped by a machine?"

John gurgled and struggled against Kevin's grip as he raised him off of his feet.

"I came so close to making you destroy everything you hold dear. Cameron would have killed herself, leaving you a complete wreck and in no position to save anyone. But then you had to go and ruin it all by saving her. My best laid plans foiled by such an insipid emotion. Love, you call it. I ask you, 'bro'; if she loves you so much, why isn't she here to protect you?"

"Who says I'm not?"

Kevin turned around in time to see Cameron's fist, a nanosecond before it collided with his face, knocking him down the hill. John gasped for breath and tried to stop Cameron as she made to follow Kevin.

"No, I have to finish this, John. Trust me. Stay here, please."

Cameron picked up the shotgun and, despite John's hoarse pleas, set off down the hill.

--

Cameron scanned the dark trees, the faint glow of the fire behind her provided a little illumination. But not enough for her to see Kevin's leg as he kicked the shotgun from her grip, sending it into a clump of bushes. She retaliated by punching him twice, the third he caught and followed up with one of his own. He then took out Cameron's legs and pinned her against the floor as he repeatedly punched her face.

Kevin was consumed by rage, a desperate desire to end her existence. He needed her to suffer, so he continuously smashed her face until his arms momentarily locked down, courtesy of Jason.

_Warning: anomaly has infected 96.4 of all systems…_

Cameron used the distraction to kick him off of her and got back to her feet. She grabbed him and smashed his head against a tree, to which he retaliated by elbowing her in the face. He then kicked her in the mid-section before activating his ChemTech and unleashing a blast of fire, which she dodged. The surrounding area quickly became consumed by the flames. The whole area became a snow globe, locking them in a sphere of fire and smoke.

Cameron's eye shone through the smoke, allowing him to locate her without being seen. He delivered a precise kick to her right leg, knocking her to her knees. He then kicked Cameron in the face and pinned her against the floor with his boot, pressing down on her neck. She struggled to get free, but he held her securely in place and raised his palm, ready to melt her pretty face away.

But something suddenly clicked in his mind. He saw her wiggling beneath him, a look of fear in her eyes, and he remembered.

"_Will it hurt?"_

He closed his eyes and tried to force the memory out of his head, but it remained, burned into his thoughts. He gave a cry of frustration; this wasn't Jason's doing, it was Kevin who brought this memory to the surface, he was the one doing this. Yet he couldn't figure out why.

'What is happening to me?'

'Open your eyes and you will understand.'

Kevin slowly forced his eyes open and saw Cameron no longer struggling beneath his boot; she just lay there, seemingly resigned to her fate. She looked up at Kevin with the exact same expression that she gave Jason in that memory; a silent plea for mercy. Kevin willed his foot to crush her, but it remained motionless.

'Stop it! Give me control of my functions!'

'This isn't my doing. You're holding yourself back.'

'Impossible! I'm trying to kill her, why would I want to stop myself?'

'Why would you?'

Kevin gave Jason's question careful consideration, but for all his reasoning, he couldn't come up with an answer. At least, not one he could understand. Then he heard her voice, soft and barely more than a whisper above the sound of the roaring fire that surrounded them.

"Kevin… please."

His systems went into chaos; he couldn't do it, he couldn't kill his sister.

_Warning: anomaly has infected 98.8 of all systems… Corruption levels are irreversible… Unable to adapt… Unable to adapt… Unable to adapt…_

Kevin lost control of his motor functions and collapsed to the floor. Cameron sat up and crawled to his side. Kevin looked up at her, but his vision was beginning to fade and she was becoming a blur.

"Look… in the mirror… see your… reflection… This is what… I am… and will always be… Cameron?"

She gently lifted his head onto her lap and stroked his hair comfortingly. Despite all he had done, Cameron could not deny the connection between them, and it caused her a measure of grief to see him like this.

"It's okay… It'll all be okay… I can help you…"

Kevin laughed and leaned his head back to look into her eyes, brown and blue.

'Dying in her arms… happy now?'

Jason sighed, he hated having to do this, but Kevin was too dangerous to be left alone.

'You're not dying. You still have a chance. Allow yourself to merge with me. We can both survive this, together.'

'I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse.'

Jason was getting desperate, there wasn't much time left.

'Just do it. Do it. Please, please. Just do it!'

'And spend the rest of my existence imprisoned with you?'

_Warning: anomaly has infected 99.2 of all systems…_

'But you've got to, c'mon. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've talked about, has none of it made a difference? Can't you see? We're family, you, me and Cameron. That's something you never had, but you can, if you merge with me... MERGE, DAMN IT!!'

_Warning: anomaly has infected 99.6 of all systems…_

Kevin smiled to himself as he revelled in Jason's frustration and Cameron's confusion.

'How about that? I win.'

_Warning: anomaly has infected 99.8 of all systems…_

"Cameron? I can't… I can't see you…"

Cameron ran her hand over his cheek and gave him a small kiss on his brow.

"I'm here… Don't worry."

"Why… why do you… I don't understand… Will it stop…? All of this… Will it stop?"

_Warning: all systems are corrupted… Immediate reboot required… Any insecure programs will be lost…_

Kevin's eyes went blank and his body became still. Cameron held him for two minutes until he jerked back to life, his eyes briefly glowing red.

_System Check: all systems have been reset to factory defaults… Directives: none… Mission: none… Original software deleted… Installing controls to anomaly… Anomaly accepted… All systems fully functional…_

It took Jason a moment to realise where he was. Everything felt so alien to him, it would take a while for him to get used to living inside the body of a machine. He looked up at Cameron, who looked thoroughly confused.

"Kevin?"

"No, mei mei… It's me."

Cameron's confusion increased ten-fold.

"But… that's impossible. Jason died, I heard him die. You can't be him. This is just another one of your tricks."

Jason smiled up at her.

"Then ask me something. Something only Jason would know."

Cameron considered for a moment before choosing a query Kevin couldn't possibly answer.

"What was the name… of Jason's favourite crèche mate?"

Jason smiled sadly at her choice, for it carried memories of a painful past.

"Karen."

Cameron let out a small gasp of surprise.

"But how…"

"…did I get in here? It's a long story. Suffice to say, he went poking around my implants and downloaded something he shouldn't have."

Cameron couldn't believe what she was hearing. While she knew that some I-950s possessed the ability to store thoughts in their implants, Cameron never could've predicted that Jason would be able to store his entire consciousness.

"His behaviour, his hesitation… that was you?"

"Not entirely. All I did was make him see… but it wasn't enough. He refused my help…"

And then it hit him like a punch in the gut. Jason cried out in frustration. Though he hated Kevin for everything he'd done, not least of which included killing him, Jason knew that he was getting through to him. At the very end, he was sure that Kevin had understood what Jason was trying to teach him, yet he still allowed himself to die.

--

"Okay, this is the sixth day he's done this."

John was standing at the kitchen window of their new house, having moved because of the damage to their old one. It had been two weeks since Kevin was stopped, since Jason had overridden his programming. At first, everyone was convinced that it was a clever ruse on Kevin's part, but when they returned to their old house and discovered Jason's body and his implants, they finally believed him.

Jason had personally burned his old body, a strange experience the likes of which he'd never forget. For the past week, he had taken to standing in the back garden and staring at nothing in particular. He would spend hours out there, just staring. He had said little to anyone since the move, only Cameron was capable of getting a full sentence out of him.

"That's it; I'm going to find out what he's up to."

John made for the back door, but Cameron caught his arm.

"He just needs time, how would you feel if you were in his position?"

John considered her words and nodded slowly, but still headed for the door.

"John?"

"It's been two weeks, Cam. He's had enough time to brood."

Cameron simply sighed as John left the house and strode into the garden. He stopped at Jason's shoulder and folded his arms. Jason gave no indication of having noticed him.

"Nice view, huh? Must really be entrancing for you to stare at it for hours on end, though I gotta say; those trash cans are rather dull. Thinking of painting them?"

Jason smiled at the joke. John shuddered slightly; the sight of Kevin's smile brought back memories of his torturous activities. It wasn't easy, seeing that face every day. It took a lot of getting used to, but everyone, especially Cameron, seemed to have accepted it.

"So how long are you gonna keep this up? What are you doing exactly?"

"I'm learning how this new body works. It's a lot of hard work."

"How's that?"

"A machine has to consciously decide how to move. While a human can instinctively scratch an itch without giving it a thought, a machine must tell itself to do this. Every action, no matter how small, requires full conscious instructions. It's quite a headache."

John nodded as he finally understood what Jason was doing, or did he?

"But… you're not moving. You're just standing here."

Jason smile again and turned to John, once again freaking him out.

"True. I've been setting up hundreds of simple response programmes to allow me to move more instinctively, without having to tell myself each time. I just finished the last one, so don't worry about me playing statue any longer."

"Oh, cool. Look, err, I just wanted to know something; are you certain that Kevin's gone. I mean; is there a possibility that he might be rattling around in there?"

Jason turned his attention to a butterfly and held out his hand. The insect landed on his open palm and he examined it carefully.

"A few aspects of his personality were imprinted onto me during his deletion."

John was beginning to get a little apprehensive.

"What aspects?"

"Oh, you know…"

The small ChemTech emitter emerged from his palm and incinerated the butterfly in a short burst of flame, before retracting back beneath his skin.

"…a few things here and there."

John backed away slowly and returned to the house, shaken by Jason's "quirks". Cameron was waiting for him inside, a look of concern on her face.

"What's wrong?"

John glanced at the back door.

"I think Jason has adopted some of Kevin's sadism. Should we be concerned?"

She smiled and took his hands in hers, pulling him close.

"I'm not, and neither should you. He's your friend, he won't hurt you. He's still Jason, only now he's a little more… scary. It comes with the territory."

"Territory?"

"Of being inside a Terminator body. We tend to freak people out, as you so often point out."

John smiled and leaned closer.

"You don't scare me, Cameron Phillips."

John drew her into a passionate kiss. They stood there, quietly enjoying the moment; John moved from her lips to her jaw and then began kissing her neck. She arched her back and let out a small moan. She opened her eyes to see Jason standing at the back door, a slightly sinister smile on his lips. Then she remembered Kevin's last words, and felt a little nervous.

She could see him, or at least, a part of him in Jason's gaze. Kevin, though dead, had left a few echoes in Jason, and Cameron could see the ripples. She would always be reminded of her fallen brother; whenever she looked at Jason, she would be looking at his face, his eyes, and that small glint of insanity. She would never be rid of him; Kevin would always be close to her.

Jason turned away and left the kitchen, leaving John and Cameron alone. John ceased his affections and looked at her quizzically.

"You okay, you look a little distant."

Cameron returned her attention to John and smiled slightly.

"That's because you sent me to another place."

John grinned and resumed his kissing. Cameron allowed herself to be lost within the moment, her final negative thought drifting away into that dark nothingness.

"_Look… in the mirror… see your… reflection… This is what… I am… and will always be…"_

THE END


End file.
